1 


"ft 


•••1 


lirtRiMrM;: 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

Purchased  from  the 
JOSEPH  Z.  AND  HATHERLY  B.  TODD  FUND 


GEO.  CATLIN,  whose  death  in  Jersey  City, 
Dec.  23d,  1872,  has  been  announced,  was  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  in  1795,  in 
Wyoming  Valley,  Luzerne  county.  He  re 
ceived  a  fair  academic  education,  studied 
law  in  Connecticut,  and  practiced  hts  pro 
fession  In  that  State  for  two  years.  He 
afterwards  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where 
be  developed  it  love  for  pain  ti  n  g,  and ,  though 
with  little  instruction,  executed  several 
creditable  heads.  Having  became  interested 
in  a  party  of  Sioux  who  visited  Philadelphia 
In  1831,  be  resolved  to  visit  their  country. 
He  accordingly,  in  1832,  embarked  on  a 
steamer  at  St.  Louis,  to  ascend  the  Missouri 
river  and  the  Yellowstone  as  far  as  they 
were  navigable,  and  in  three  months  he 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone.  He 
then  set  out  on  his  travels,  and  within  the 
next  eight  years  visited  forty-eight  tribes, 
numbering  four  hundred  thousand  people. 
He  lived  with  the  Indians,  studied  their 
habits,  customs,  modes  of  life  and  religion, 
of  all  of  which  he  made  copious  sketches  and 
studies  for  Indian  portraits.  He  returned 
to  the  Atlantic  coast  by  way  of  Arkansas 
and  Florida,  and,  after  completing  his 
Indian  gallery  of  portraits  and  scenes, 
he  visited  Europe  in  1840.  He  published  in 
London  in  1811  "Illustrations  of  the  man- 
»er8r.cu8toms,aud  conditions  of  the  North 
American  Indians"  with  300  steel  engrav 
ings.  In  1844  he  published"  The  North 
American  Portfolio  of  hunting  scenes  and 
amusements  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
Prairies,"  with  twenty-five  large  folio- 
plates.  In  1848  he  published  "Notes  of  eight 
years'!  travel  and  residence  in  Europe  with 
his  North  American  collection."  During 
these  eight  years,  he  had  visited  the  States 
of  Southern  and  Central  Kurope  with  his  gal 
lery  of  paintings.  In  1864  he  published  a 
little  volume, "  The  Breath  of  Life,  or  Shut 
your  Mouth."  From  1840  to  1861  he  resided 
in  Europe,  painting  portraits  and  land 
scapes,  and  in  endeavoring  to  find  a  pur 
chases  for  his  Indian  gallery,  on  which  he 
set  a  high  value.  In  the  summer  of  1S71  he 
returned  to  the  United  States,  and  resided 
near  New  York  City  to  the  end  of  his  life. 
It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  the  greater 
part  of  Mr.  Catlin's  gallery  is  owned  by  Jos. 
Harrison,  Jr.,  of  Philadelphia. 


How  ratlin  got  Ms  Indian  Portrait*. 

A  correspondent  of  the  New  York  World, 
writing  ot  tlie  late  George  Catlin,  says  i,e 
spent  thirty-two  years  lu  making  his  cartoons. 
Mr.  (Jiitiin  is  describ  li  as  a  slender,  pale-faced 
man.  somewhat  short  ID  stature,  who  dressed 
plainly,  but  neatly.  He  wore  no  beard,  his 
hair  wus  cut  short,  and  he  covered  his  head 
with  a  velvet  skuli-cap.  He  was  extremely 
deal,  but  made  up  lor  this  great  drawback  in 
conversation  by  paying  strict  attention  to  all 
that  was  said  to  him. 

The  correspondent  says : 

••  I  asked  Mr.  Catlin  if  lie  always  found  the 
Indians  willing  to  allow  him  to  take  their 
portraits.  He  said  that  la  some  cases,  compa 
ratively  few,  however,  their  superstition 
came  very  near  defeating  him.  For  instance, 
in  his  descent  of  the  Amazon  he  came  very 
near  losing  the  portraits  he  had  taken.  The 
chiefs'  wives  cried  and  fussed  to  that  exteut 
I  suppose  the  husbands  feared  kieklnz 
hysterics,  for  no  doubt  the  Indian  women 
understood  the  efficacy  of  that  style  of 
managing  a  husband.  Mr.  Oatlln  had  to 
resort  to  many  devices,  some  of  which 
he  delineates  in  his  pictures ;  for  instance, 
in  several  of  the  cartoons  his  little 
boat,  with  a  cupola,  can  be  seen  on  the 
river,  and  his  attendant,  Sroytbe,  Is  repre 
sented  lirlng  a  revolver,  which  so  astonishes 
the  natives  that  they  come  to  the  water's 
edge  to  watch  the  process.  In  the  meanwhile 
the  cunning  artist  is  concealed  In  the  cupola, 
which  is  of  wood,  and  tho  sun  has  warped  the 
seams  mfficlentry  to  allow  him  to  make 
sketches  by  looking  through  the  crevices, 
ana  that  very  favorably,  as  the  Indians  are 
unconscious  of  standing  for  their  portraits, 
and  therefore  look  natural.  But  even  a  six- 
siiooter  will  become  exhausted,  and  then  the 
boatman,  who  Is  in  the  ring,  gets  on  the  top 
cupola,  with  his  fiddle,  anu  the  savages  all  fail 
to  dancing.  Again,  Srny tho  will  venture  to 
laud  and  beguile  the  Indians  with  trinkets, 
and  as  tho  artist  sketches  a  brisk  trade  is  going 
on.  In  tnls  boat. open  except  for  the  cupoia, 
Mr. Catiin, hlsalleudHUt, and  the  boatman  tra 
velled  2000  miles  on  tne  surface  of  the  Ama 
zon.  He  during  ten  years,  most  If  not  all  of 
which  period  was,  I  believe,  passed  In  South 
America,  was  supposed  by  his  iricnds  to  be 
dead.  During  that  time  he  never  once  wrote 
to  any  of  his  relatives  or  friends,  so  absorbed 
was  he  In  his  work,  which  carried  him  com 
pletely  without  the  boundaries  of  civilization 
into  localities  where  postal  facilities  do  Dot 
flourish.  He  learned  to  converse  with  the 
Indians  in  their  sign  language,  and  soon 
placed  himself  by  means  of  it  on  a  friendly 
footing  with  any  tribe  he  visited.  The  sign 
language,  he  to:u  me,  wi»s  essentially  the  same 
among  all  tribes  of  Indians  in  America,  North 
or  south.  He  said  he  was  particularly  struck 
with  the  universalily  of  this  means  of  com 
munication  when  atter  bis  return  from  South 
America,  he  visited  England  and  witnessed  a 
siugularand  striking  incident  at  the  asy.mn 
in  London  for  deaf  mutes.  A  few  Indians, 
men,  women  anil  children,  were  on  exhibition 
In  England,  and  a  day  was  set  for  them  to  vis- 1 
Ihcasylurn,  that  the  mutes  might  havean  op 
portunity  of  seeing  them.  A  distinguished  com 
pany,  comprising  many  of  the  nobility,  was 
in  attendance  to  witness  the  effect  of  the 
curious strau.ers  on  the  afflicted  inmates  of 
the  asylum.  Mr.  Cat II n,  having  passed  so 
nmuy  years  ID  the  stndyof  the  swage,  was  In 
vited  to  attend,  and  did  so.  The  mutes  were 
ranged  on  benches  on  either  side  a  hail,  and 
the  Indiana  parsed  through  the  hall  up  one 
side  and  down  the  other.  As  they  prxssed  they 
seemed  suddenly  to  comprehend  the  condi 
tion  ot  those  who  were  eyeing  them  so  intent 
ly,  and,  stopping,  began  to  make  signs  to  the 
mutes.  Instantly  the  response  came,  and 
telegraphing  between  mules  and  Indians  was 
established  along  both  lines,  "it  was,"  said 
Mr.  Catlin,  "  the  most  Impressive  scene  I 
ever  witnessed.  We  who  prided  ourselves  on 
our  gift  of  speech  were  then  dumb,  while  the 
creatures  we  hod  been  pitying  were  engaged 
lu  animated  conversation." 


Tlie    llumorfc  of  Advertising. 
Advertisers  an;  adepts  In  Biabigully.    A  I(u3y 
advertises   her   desire   to   obtain    a   husband 
"  with  R  Roman   nose  having  strong  religious 
tendencies."    "  A  spinster  particularly   fond 
of  children"    lulorms     tliu    public   that  bite 
"  wishes  1'or  two  or  three,  having  none  of  her 
own."    Somebody    wants  "  a  youust  man  to 
look  After   a   horse  of  lite  Methodist  persua 
sion  ;"  a  draper  desires  to  mtit  with  an  assist- 
aut  who  would  •'  take  an  active  and  energetic 
interest  In  a  small  first-class  trade,  and  in  a 
quiet  family,"  and  a  Boston  chemist  adver 
tises"  the  gentleman  wl.o  left  his  stomach  for 
analysis  wtll  please  call  and  get  it,  together 
with    the  result."    Slipshod   Kngiisu  is  not, 
however,  confined  to  the  advertising  columns, 
or  we  should  not  read  of  the  shooting  of  a  wild 
cat  "  by  a    little   boy   five  feet  eight   Inches 
long;"  or  of  a  procession .which  was  "very  fine, 
and  nearly  two  miirs  in  length,  as  was  also 
the  prayer  of  Mr.  Perry,  the  chaplain;"  nor 
should  bfi  much  scandalized  to  note  the  fact, 
recently  stated  in  some  Journal,  tbat  "  a  self- 
made  man  arrived  in  California  twenty  years 
ago  with  only  one  shirt  to  his  back,  and  since 
then    has   contrived,  by  close  application  to 
business,    to  accumulate  over  ten  millions." 
An  English  theatrical  paper,  alter  announ 
cing  a  forthcoming  benefit  performance,  went 
on  :  "Of  course  every  one  will  be  there,  and  for 
i  the  edifli-atlou  of  those  who  are  absent,  a  fnll 
i  report  will  be  found  in  our  next  pap«rr."  The 
I  following  advertisements  are  collected  from 
!  Irish  papers:    "One  pound  reward.    Lost,  a 
i  cntneo    brooch,     representing     Venus     and 
Adonis,  on   the  Drumcoudra  road,  about  10 
o'clock  on  Tuesday  evening."    Advertisement 
ot  a  wine  merchant :  "The  advertiser,  having 
made   an    advantageous  purchase,  offers   f«r 
sale,  on  very  low  terms,  about  six  dozen  of 
prime  port  wine,  lately  the  property  of  a  gen 
tleman  40  years  of  age,  full  in  the  body,»nd 
with  a    high  bouquet."    The  two  following 
emanated  from  a  well-known   livery  stahlo 
;  keeper:  "To  be  sold  cheap,  a  splendid  gray 
I  horse,  calculated  for  a  charger,  or  would  carry 
j  a  lady  with  a  switch  tall."    "To  be  sold  cheap, 
a  mail  phaeton,  the  property  of  a  gentleman 
i  with  a  movable  head,  as  good  as  new."    "Ten 
1  shillliiBS  reward,    host,    by   a  gentleman,   a 
'  white  terrier  dog.  except  the  head,  which  la 
j  black.    To  be  brought  to,"  &c.    To  these  Irish 
advertisements  may  be  added  an  English  one, 
which  was  the  subject  of  a  humorous  article 
lu  the   Saturday  Review,   some  four   or  flvo 
years  since:  "To  be  sold,  an  Krurd grand  piano, 
the  property  of  a  lady,  about  to  travel  In  a 
walnut  wood  case  with  carved  legs." 


••'*U' 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES 


MANNERS,  CUSTOMS,  AND  CONDITION 

OF    THE 

jf'" 

NORTH    AMERICAN    INDIANS. 


BY    GEO.    CATLIN. 


WRITTEN  DURING  EIGHT  YEARS'  TRAVEL  AMONGST  THE  WILDEST  TRIBES  OF 
INDIANS  IN  NORTH  AMERICA, 

IN  1832,  33,  34,  35,  36,  37,  38,  AND  39. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES, 

WITH  FOUR  HUNDRED  ILLUSTRATIONS,  CAREFULLY  ENGRAVED  FROM  HIS  ORIGINAL  PAINTINGS. 


VOL.  II. 


NEW-YORK: 
WILEY  AND  PUTNAM,  161  BROADWAY. 


1841. 


CONTENTS 


THE  SECOND  VOLUME, 


LETTER— No.  32. 

Cantonment  Leaven  worth,  p.  1, 15. — Shiennes,  p.  2. — Portraits  of,  pis.  115,  116. — Floyd's 
Grave,  p.  4,  pi.  118. — Black  Bird's  Grave,  p.  5,  pi.  117. — Beautiful  grassy  bluffs,  p.  8, 
pis.  119,  120. — Mandan  remains,  p.  9,  pi.  121. — Belle  Vue,  p.  11,  pi.  122. — Square 
hills,  p.  11,  pi.  123.— Mouth  of  Platte,  p.  13,  pi.  125,— Buffaloes  crossing,  p.  13, 
pi.  126. 

LETTER— No.  33. 

Grouse  shooting  before  the  burning  prairies,  p.  16. — Prairie  bluffs  burning,  p,  17,  pi. 
127. — Prairie  meadows  burning,  p.  17,  pi.  128. 

LETTER— No.  34, 

loways,  p.  22,  pis.  129, 130,  132— Konzas,  p.  22,  pis.  133, 134, 135, 136.— Mode  of  shav 
ing  the  head,  p.  23. —Pawnees,  p.  24. — Small-pox  amongst  Pawnees,  p.  25. — Major 
Dougherty's  opinion  of  the  Fur  Trade,  p.  26. — Grand  Pawnees,  p.  27,  pis.  138, 139, 140. 
— Ottoes,  p.  27,  pis.  143.  144. — Omahas,  p.  27,  pis.  145,  146. 

LETTER— No.  35. 

St.  Louis,  p.  29. — Loss  of  Indian   curiosities,  &c. — Governor  Clarke,  p.  30. 

LETTER— No.  36. 

Pensacola,  Florida — Perdido,  p.  32. — Pine  woods  of  Florida,  p.  33,  pi.  147. — Santa  Rosa 
Island,  p.  33,  pi.  148. — Prophecy,  p.  34. — Start  for  Camanchee  country,  p.  35. 

A   A  2 


IV 

LETTER— No.   37. 

Transit  up  the  Arkansas  river,  p.  36. — Fort  Gibson,  1st  regiment  United  States'  Dragoons 
reviewed,  p.  38. — Equipping  and  starting  of  Dragoons  for  the  Camanchee  country, 
p.  38,  39. 

LETTER— No.  38. 

Fort  Gibson,  p.  40.— Osages,  p.  41.— Portraits  of  Osages,  p.  41,  pis.  150,  151,  152,  3,  4, 
5,  6. — Former  and  present  condition  of,  p.  43,  44. — Start  for  Camanchees  and  Pawnee 
Picts,  p.  44. 

LETTER— No.    39. 

Mouth  of  the  False  Washita  and  Red  River,  p.  45. — Beautiful  prairie  country,  p.  45. — 
Arkanzas  grapes. — Plums. — Wild  roses,  currants,  gooseberries,  prickly  pears,  &c. 
p.  46. — Buffalo  chase,  p.  46. — Murder  of  Judge  Martin  and  family,  p.  47. 

LETTER— No.  40. 

Sickness  at  the  Mouth  of  False  Washita — one-half  of  the  regiment  start  for  the  Caman 
chees,  under  command  of  Col.  Dodge,  p.  49. — Sickness  of  General  Leavenworth, 
and  cause  of,  p.  50. — Another  buffalo  hunt,  p.  51. 

LETTER— No.  41. 

Great  Camanchee  village,  Texas,  p.  53. — A  stampedo,  p.  53. — Meeting  a  Camanchee  war 
party,  and  mode  of  approaching  them,  p.  55,  pi.  157 — They  turn  about  and  escort  the 
Dragoons  to  their  village,  p.  56. — Immense  herds  of  buffaloes,  p.  56. — Buffaloes 
breaking  through  the  ranks  of  the  Dragoon  regiment,  p.  57,  pi.  158. — Wild  horses — 
sagacity  of— wild  horses  at  play,  p.  57,  pi.  160. — Joe  Chadwick  and  I  "  creasing  "  a 
wild  horse,  p.  58. — Taking  the  wild  horse  with  laso,  and  "breaking  down,"  p.  58, 
pis.  161,  162. — Chain  of  the  Rocky  Mountain,  p.  60. — Approach  to  the  Camanchee 
village,  p.  61,  pi.  163. — Immense  number  of  Camanchee  horses — prices  of — Capt. 
Duncan's  purchase,  p.  62,  63. 

LETTER— No.  42. 

Description  of  the  Camanchee  village,  and  view  of,  p.  64,  pi.  164. — Painting  a  family 
group,  p.  165. — Camanchees  moving,  p.  64,  pi.  166. — Wonderful  feats  of  riding,  p.  65, 
pi.  167.— Portraits  of  Camanchee  chiefs,  p.  67,  pis.  168.  169,  170,  171,  172.— Esti 
mates  of  the  Camanchees,  p.  68. — Pawnee  Picts,  Kiowas,  and  Wicos,  p.  69. 

LETTER— No.  43. 

The  regiment  advance  towards  the  Pawnee  village — Description  and  view  of  the  Pawnee 
village,  p.  70,  pi.  173. — Council  in  the  Pawnee  village — Recovery  of  the  son  of  Judge 
Martin,  and  the  presentation  of  the  three  Pawnee  and  Kiowa  women  to  their  own 
people,  p.  71. — Return  of  the  regiment  to  the  Camanchee  village,  p.  72. — Pawnee  Picts, 
portraits  of,  p.  73,  pis.  174,  175,  176,  177.— Kiowas,  p.  74,  pis.  178,  179,  180, 181.— 
Wicos,  portraits  of,  p.  75,  pi.  182. 


LETTER— No.  44. 

Camp  Canadian — Immense  herds  of  buffaloes — Great  slaughter  of  them — Extraordinary 
sickness  of  the  command,  p.  76. — Suffering  from  impure  water — sickness  of  the  men, 
p.  77. — Horned  frogs — Curious  adventure  in  catching  them,  p.  78.  Death  of  General 
Leavenworth  and  Lieutenant  M'Clure,  p.  78. 


LETTER— No.  45. 

Return  to  Fort  Gibson — Severe  and  fatal  sickness  at  that  place — Death  of  Lieutenant 
West,  p.  80. — Death  of  the  Prussian  Botanist  and  his  servant,  p.  81. — Indian  Council 
at  Fort  Gibson,  p.  32. — Outfits  of  trading-parties  to  the  Camanchees — Probable  conse 
quences  of,  p.  83. — Curious  minerals  and  fossil  shells  collected  and  thrown  away, 
p.  85. — Mountain  ridges  of  fossil  shells,  of  iron  and  gypsum,  p.  86. — Saltpetre  and 
salt,  p.  86. 

LETTER— No.  46. 

Alton,  on  the  Mississippi — Captain  Wharton — His  sickness  at  Fort  Gibson,  p.  87. — The 
Author  starting  alone  for  St.  Louis,  a  distance  of  500  miles  across  the  prairies — His 
outfit,  p.  88. — The  Author  and  his  jhorse  "  Charley"  encamped  on  a  level  prairie,  p.  89, 
pi.  184. — Singular  freak  and  attachment  of  the  Author's  horse,  p.  90. — A  beautiful 
valley  in  the  prairies,  p.  91. — An  Indian's  estimation  of  a  newspaper,  p.  92. — Riqua's 
village  of  Osages — Meeting  Captain  Wharton  at  the  Kickapoo  prairie,  p.  93. — Difficulty 
of  swimming  rivers — Crossing  the  Osage,  94. — Boonville  on  the  Missouri — Author 
reaches  Alton,  and  starts  for  Florida,  p.  95. 

LETTER— No.   47. 

Trip  to  Florida  and  Texas,  and  back  to  St.  Louis,  p.  97. — Kickapoos,  portraits  of,  p.  98, 
pis.  185,  186. — Weas,  portraits  of,  p.  99,  pis.  187,  188. — Potowatomies,  portraits  of, 
p.  100,  pis.  189,  190. — Kaskasias,  portraits  of  p.  100,  pis.  191,  192. — Peorias,  portraits 
of,  p.  101,  pis.  193,  194. — Piankeshaws,  p.  101,  pis.  195,  196. — Delawares,  p.  101, 
pls»  197,  198.— Moheconneuhs,  or  Mohegans,  p.  103,  pis.  199,  200. — Oneidas,  p.  103, 
pis.  201. — Tuskaroras,  p.  103,  pi.  202.— Senecas,  p.  104,  pis.  203,  204,  205. — Iroquois, 
p.  106,  pi.  206. 

LETTER— No.  48. 

Flatheads,  Nez  Percys,  p.  108,  pis.  207,  208. — Flathead  mission  across  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains  to  St.  Louis. — Mission  of  the  Reverends  Messrs.  Lee  and  Spalding  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  p.  109. — Chinooks,  portraits,  p.  110,  pis.  209,  210. — Process  of  flatten 
ing  the  head — and  cradle,  p.  Ill,  pi.  210|. — Flathead  skulls,  p.  111. — Similar  custom  of 
Choctaws — Choctaw  tradition,  p.  112 — Curious  manufactures  of  the  Chinooks — Klicka- 
tacks — Chuhaylas,  and  Na-as  Indians,  p.  113,  pi.  210£. — Character  and  disposition 
of  the  Indians  on  the  Columbia,  p.  114. 


VI 

LETTER— No.  49. 

Shawanos,  p.  115,  pis.  211,  212,  213,  214. — Shawnee  prophet  and  his  transactions,  p.  117. 
— Cherokees,  portraits  of,  p.  119,  pis.  215,  216,  217,  218. — Creeks,  portraits  of, 
p.  122,  pis.  219,  220. — Choctaws,  portraits  of,  p.  122,  pis.  221,  222. — Ball-play,  p.  124, 
in  plates  224,  225,  226. — A  distinguished  ball-player,  pi.  223. — Eagle-dance,  p.  126, 
pi.  227. — Tradition  of  the  Deluge — Of  a  future  state,  p,  127. — Origin  of  the  Crawfish 
band,  p.  128. 

LETTER— No.  50. 

Fort  Snelling,  near  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony — Description  of  the  Upper  Mississippi, 
p.  129, 130. — View  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  "  Dubuque's  Grave,"  p.  130,  pis.  128, 
129.— Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  p.  131,  pi.  230.— Fort  Snelling,  p.  131,  pi.  231.— A  Sioux 
cradle,  and  modes  of  carrying  their  children,  p.  132,  pi.  232. — Mourning  cradle,  same 
plate.— Sioux  portraits,  p.  134,  pis.  233,  234,  235,  236. 

LETTER— No.  51. 

Fourth  of  July  at  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  and  amusements,  p.  135-6. — Dog  dance  of  the 
Sioux,  p.  136,  pi.  237. — Chippeway  village,  p.  137,  pi.  238. — Chippeways  making  the 
portage  around  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  p.  138,  pi.  239. — Chippeway  bark  canoes — 
Mandan  canoes  of  skins — Sioux  canoes — Sioux  and  Chippeway  snow-shoes,  p.  138, 
pi.  240. — Portraits  of  Chippeways,  p.  139,  pis.  241,  242,  244,  245, — Snow-shoe  dance, 
p.  139,  pi.  243. 

LETTER— No.  52. 

The  Author  descending  the  Mississippi  in  a  bark  canoe — Shot  at  by  Sioux  Indians,  p.  141. 
— Lake  Pepin  and  "  Lover's  Leap,"  p.  143,  pi.  248. — Pike's  Tent,  and  Cap  au'l'ail, 
p.  143,  pis.  249,  250. — "  Cornice  Rocks,"  p.  144,  pi.  251. — Prairie  du  Chien,  p.  144, 
pi.  253. — Ball-play  of  the  women,  p.  145,  pi.  252. — Winnebagoes,  portraits  of,  p.  146, 
pis.  254,  255,  256.— Menomonies,  portraits  of,  p.  147,  pis.  258,  259,  260,  261,  262, 
263. — Dubuque — Lockwood's  cave,  p.  148. — Camp  des  Moines,  and  visit  to  Keokuk's 
village,  p.  149. 

LETTER— No.  53. 

The  Author  and  his  bark  canoe  sunk  in  the  Des  Moine's  Rapids,  p.  151. — The  Author  left 
on  Mascotin  Island,  p.  153. — Death  of  Joe  Chadwick — The  "  West,"  not  the  "  Far 
West,"  p.  155. — Author's  contemplations  on  the  probable  future  condition  of  the  Great 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  p.  156 — 159. 

LETTER— No.  54. 

C6teau  des  Prairies,  p.  160. — Mackinaw  and  Sault  de  St.  Mary's,  p.  161,  pis.  264,  265. — 
Catching  white  fish — Canoe  race,  p.  162,  pis.  266,  267. — Chippeways,  portraits  of, 
p.  162,  pis.  268,  269. — Voyage  up  the  Fox  River,  p.  162. — Voyage  down  the  Ouisconsin 


VII 

in  bark  canoe,  p.  163. — Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  on  the  C6teau  des  Prairies,  p.  164, 
pi.  270.-~Indian  traditions  relative  to  the  Red  Pipe  Stone,  p.  168,  169,  170. — The 
"Leaping  Rock,"  p.  170. — The  Author  and  his  companion  stopped  by  the  Sioux,  on 
their  way,  and  objections  raised  by  the  Sioux,  p.  172,  173,  174,  175. — British  medals 
amongst  the  Sioux,  p.  173. — Mons.  La  Fromboise,  kind  reception,  p.  176. — Encamp 
ment  at  the  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  p.  177. — B'atiste's  "  Story  of  the  Medicine  Bag,"  p.  178. 
— "  Story  of  the  Dog,"  prelude  to,  p.  180. — Leaving  the  Mandans  in  canoe,  p.  181. — 
Passing  the  Riccarees  in  the  night,  p.  182. — Encamping  on  the  side  of  a  clay-bluff, 
in  a  thunder-storm,  p.  183. 

LETTER— No.  55. 

"  Story  of  the  Dog"  told,  p.  188  to  194. — Story  of  Wi-jun-jon,  (the  pigeon's  egg  head,) 
p.  1 94  to  200. — Further  account  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  and  the  Author's 
approach  to  it,  p.  201. — Boulders  of  the  Prairies,  p.  203. — Chemical  analysis  of  the 
Red  Pipe  Stone,  p.  206. 

LETTER— No.  56. 

Author's  return  from  the  C6teau  des  Prairies — "  Laque  du  Cygn,"  p. 207,  pi.  276. — Sioux 
taking  Muskrats,  pi.  277,  same  page. — Gathering  wild  rice,  p.  208,  pi.  278. — View  on 
St.  Peters  river,  p.  208,  pi.  279. — The  Author  and  his  companion  embark  in  a  log  canoe 
at  "Traverse  de  Sioux" — Arrive  at  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  p.  208. — Lake  Pepin — Prairie 
du  Chien — Cassville — Rock  Island,  p.  209. — Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  portraits  of,  p.  210, 
pis.  280,  281,  282,  283,  284,  285,  286,  287,  289.— Ke-o-kuk  on  horseback,  p.  212, 
pi.  290. — Slave-dance,  p.  213,  pi.  291. — "Smoking  horses,"  p.  213,  pi.  292. — Begging- 
dance,  p.  214,  pi.  293. — Sailing  in  canoes — Discovery-dance — Dance  to  the  Berdash, 
p.  214,  pis.  294,  295,  296. — Dance  to  the  medicine  of  the  brave,  p.  215,  pi.  297. — 
Treaty  with  Sacs  and  Foxes — Stipulations  of,  p.  215,  and  216. 

LETTER— No.  57. 

Fort  Moultrie. — Seminolees,  p.  218. — Florida  war. — Prisoners  of  war. — Osceola,  p.  219, 
pi.  298. — Cloud,  King  Phillip. — Co-ee-ha-jo.— Creek  Billy,  Mickenopah,  p.  220,  pis. 
299  to  305.— Death  of  Osceola.  p.  221. 

LETTER— No.  58. 

North  Western  Frontier — General  remarks  on,  p.  223. — General  appearance  and  habits 
of  the  North  American  Indians,  p.  225  to  230. — Jewish  customs  and  Jewish  resem 
blances,  p.  232,  233. — Probable  origin  of  the  Indians,  p.  234. — Languages,  p.  236. — 
Government,  p.  239. — Cruelties  of  punishments,  p.  240. — Indian  queries  on  white 
man's  modes,  p.  241. — Modes  of  war  and  peace,  p.  242. — Pipe  of  peace  dance,  p.  242. — 
Religion,  p.  242 — 3. — Picture  writing,  songs  and  totems,  p.  246,  pis.  306,  307,  308, 
309,  310,  311. — Policy  of  removing  the  Indians,  p.  249. — Trade  and  small-pox,  the 
principal  destroyers  of  the  Indian  tribes,  p.  250. — Murder  of  the  Root  Diggers  and 
Riccarees,  252. — Concluding  remarks,  p.  254  to  256. 


Vlll 

APPENDIX  A. 

Account  of  the  destruction  of  the  Mandans,  p.  257. — Author's  reasons  for  believing  them 
to  have  perpetuated  the  remains  of  the  Welsh  Colony  established  by  Prince  Madoc. 

APPENDIX  B. 

Vocabularies  of  several  different  Indian  languages,  shewing  their  dissimilarity,  p.  262. 

APPENDIX  C. 

Comparison  of  the  Indians'  original  and  secondary  character,  p.  206. 


U.  STATES'  IKD I  AH     KK  <  >  N  T  I  K  K     IN      1840, 

Shewing  t//,     /}>.r/ //„//.<•  <,/'//,,-  Trill, T  //////  /tf/i-,-  //,•/•/!  reitnn-i'il  wrs-l  >/f'//t<  .\fifA-i.vififti ' . 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES 


ON  THE 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


LETTER— No.  32. 

FORT  LEA  YEN  WORTH,  LOWER  MISSOURI. 

1  HE  readers,  I  presume,  will  have  felt  some  anxiety  for  me  and  the  fate  of 
my  little  craft,  after  the  close  of  my  last  Letter  ;  and  I  have  the  very  great 
satisfaction  of  announcing  to  them  that  we  escaped  snags  and  sawyers,  and 
every  other  danger,  and  arrived  here  safe  from  the  Upper  Missouri,  where  my 
lasttletters  were  dated.  We,  (that  is,  Ba'tiste,  Bogard  and  I,)  are  comfort 
ably  quartered  for  awhile,  in  the  barracks  of  this  hospitable  Cantonment, 
which  is  now  the  extreme  Western  military  post  on  the  frontier,  and  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Davenport,  a  gentleman  of  great  urbanity  of  man 
ners,  with  a  Roman  head  and  a  Grecian  heart,  restrained  and  tempered  by  the 
charms  of  an  American  lady,  who  has  elegantly  pioneered  the  graces  of 
civilized  refinements  into  these  uncivilized  regions. 

This  Cantonment,  which  is  beautifully  situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Missouri  River,  and  six  hundred  miles  above  its  mouth,  was  constructed  some 
years  since  by  General  Leavenworth,  from  whom  it  has  taken  its  name.  Its 
location  is  very  beautiful,  and  so  is  the  country  around  it.  It  is  the  con 
centration  point  of  a  number  of  hostile  tribes  in  the  vicinity,  and  has  its 
influence  in  restraining  their  warlike  propensities. 

There  is  generally  a  regiment  of  men  stationed  here,  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  the  Indians  in  check,  and  of  preserving  the  peace  amongst  the  hostile 
tribes.  I  shall  visit  several  tribes  in  this  vicinity,  and  most  assuredly  give 
you  some  further  account  of  them,  as  fast  as  I  get  it. 

Since  the  date  of  my  last  epistles,  I  succeeded  in  descending  the  river  to 
this  place,  in  my  little  canoe,  with  my  two  men  at  the  oars,  and  myself  at 
the  helm,  steering  its  course  the  whole  way  amongst  snags  and  sand-bars. 

Before  I  give  further  account  of  this  downward  voyage,  however,  I  must 
recur  back  for  a  few  moments,  to  theTeton  River,  from  whence  I  started,  and 

VOL.    II.  B 


from  whence  my  last  epistles  were  written,  to  record  a  few  more  incidents  which 
I  then  overlooked  in  my  note-book.  Whilst  painting  my  portraits  amongst  the 
Sioux,  as  I  have  described,  I  got  the  portrait  of  a  noble  Shienne  chief,  by  the 
name  of  Nee-hee-o-ee-woo-tis,  the  wolf  on  the  hill  (PLATE  115).  The  chief 
of  a  party  of  that  tribe,  on  a  friendly  visit  to  the  Sioux,  and  the  portrait  also  of 
a  woman,  Tis-see-woo-na-tis  (she  who  bathes  her  knees,  PLATE  116).  The 
Shiennes  are  a  small  tribe  of  about  3000  in  numbers,  living  neighbours  to 
the  Sioux,  on  the  west  of  them,  and  between  the  Black  Hills  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  There  is  no  finer  race  of  men  than  these  in  North 
America,  and  none  superior  in  stature,  excepting  the  Osages ;  scarcely  a 
man  in  the  tribe,  full  grown,  who  is  less  than  six  feet  in  height.  The 
Shiennes  are  undoubtedly  the  richest  in  horses  of  any  tribe  on  the  Continent, 
living  in  a  country  as  they  do,  where  the  greatest  numbers  of  wild  horses 
are  grazing  on  the  prairies,  which  they  catch  in  great  numbers  and  vend  to 
the  Sioux,  Mandans  and  other  tribes,  as  well  as  to  the  Fur  Traders. 

These  people  are  the  most  desperate  set  of  horsemen,  and  warriors  also, 
having  carried  on  almost  unceasing  wars  with  the  Pawnees  and  Blackfeet, 
"  time  out  of  mind."  The  chief  represented  in  the  picture  was  clothed 
in  a  handsome  dress  of  deer  skins,  very  neatly  garnished  with  broad  bands  of 
porcupine  quill-work  down  the  sleeves  of  his  shirt  and  his  leggings,  and  all 
the  way  fringed  with  scalp-locks.  His  hair  was  very  profuse,  and  flowing 
over  his  shoulders  ;  and  in  his  hand  he  held  a  beautiful  Sioux  pipe,  which 
had  just  been  presented  to  him  by  Mr.  M'Kenzie,  the  Trader.  This  was 
one  of  the  finest  looking  and  most  dignified  men  that  I  have  met  in  the  Indian 
country  ;  and  from  the  account  given  of  him  by  the  Traders,  a  man  of 
honour  and  strictest  integrity.  The  woman  was  comely,  and  beautifully 
dressed ;  her  dress  of  the  mountain-sheep  skins,  tastefully  ornamented  with 
quills  and  beads,  and  her  hair  plaited  in  large  braids,  that  hung  down  on  her 
breast. 

After  I  had  painted  these  and  many  more,  whom  I  have  not  time  at  pre 
sent  to  name,  I  painted  the  portrait  of  a  celebrated  warrior  of  the  Sioux, 
by  the  name  of  Mah-to-chee-ga  (the  little  bear),  who  was  unfortunately 
slain  in  a  few  moments  after  the  picture  was  done,  by  one  of  his  own  tribe  ; 
and  which  was  very  near  costing  me  my  life  for  having  painted  a  side  view  of 
his  face,  leaving  one-half  of  it  out  of  the  picture,  which  had  been  the  cause  of 
the  affray  ;  and  supposed  by  the  whole  tribe  to  have  been  intentionally  left 
out  by  me,  as  "  good  for  nothing."  This  was  the  last  picture  that  I  painted 
amongst  the  Sioux,  and  the  last,  undoubtedly,  that  I  ever  shall  paint  in  that 
place.  So  tremendous  and  so  alarming  was  the  excitement  about  it,  that 
my  brushes  were  instantly  put  away,  and  I  embarked  the  next  day  on  the 
steamer  for  the  sources  of  the  Missouri,  and  was  glad  to  get  underweigh. 

The  man  who  slew  this  noble  warrior  was  a  troublesome  fellow  of  the 
same  tribe,  by  the  name  of  Shon-ka  (the  dog).  A  "  hue  and  cry"  has 
been  on  his  traek  for  several  months ;  and  my  life  having  been  repeatedly 


3 

threatened  during  my  absence  up  the  river,  I  shall  defer  telling  the  whole 
of  this  most  extraordinary  affair,  until  I  see  that  my  own  scalp  is  safe,  and 
I  am  successfully  out  of  the  country.  A  few  weeks  or  months  will  decide 
how  many  are  to  fall  victims  to  the  vengeance  of  the  relatives  of  this  mur 
dered  brave  ;  and  it'  I  outlive  the  affair,  I  shall  certainly  give  some  further 
account  of  it.* 

My  voyage  from  the  mouth  of  the  Teton  River  to  this  place  has  been  the 
most  rugged,  yet  the  most  delightful,  of  my  whole  Tour.  Our  canoe  was 
generally  landed  at  night  on  the  point  of  some  projecting  barren  sand-bar, 
where  we  straightened  our  limbs  on  our  buffalo  robes,  secure  from  the 
annoyance  of  mosquitos,  and  out  of  the  walks  of  Indians  and  grizzly  bears. 
In  addition  to  the  opportunity  which  this  descending  Tour  has  afforded  me, 
of  visiting  all  the  tribes  of  Indians  on  the  river,  and  leisurely  filling  my  port 
folio  with  the  beautiful  scenery  which  its  shores  present — the  sportsman's 
fever  was  roused  and  satisfied ;  the  swan,  ducks,  geese,  and  pelicans — the 
deer,  antelope,  elk,  and  buffaloes,  were  "  stretched"  by  our  rifles  ;  and  some 
times — "  pull  boys  !  pull !  !  a  war  party  !  for  your  lives  pull  !  or  we  are 
gone !" 

I  often  landed  my  skiff,  and  mounted  the  green  carpeted  bluffs,  whose 
soft  grassy  tops,  invited  me  to  recline,  where  I  was  at  once  lost  in  contem 
plation.  Soul  melting  scenery  that  was  about  me !  A  place  where  the 
mind  could  think  volumes  ;  but  the  tongue  must  be  silent  that  would  speak, 
and  the  hand  palsied  that  would  write.  A  place  where  a  Divine  would  con 
fess  that  he  never  had  fancied  Paradise — where  the  painter's  palette  would 
lose  its  beautiful  tints — the  blood-stirring  notes  of  eloquence  would  die  in 
their  utterance — and  even  the  soft  tones  of  sweet  music  would  scarcely  pre 
serve  a  spark  to  light  the  soul  again  that  had  passed  this  sweet  delirium.  I 
mean  the  prairie,  whose  enamelled  plains  that  lie  beneath  me,  in  distance 
soften  into  sweetness,  like  an  essence ;  whose  thousand  thousand  velvet- 
covered  hills,  (surely  never  formed  by  chance,  but  grouped  in  one  of 
Nature's  sportive  moods) — tossing  and  leaping  down  with  steep  or  graceful 
declivities  to  the  river's  edge,  as  if  to  grace  its  pictured  shores,  and  make  it 
"  a  thing  to  look  upon."  I  mean  the  prairie  at  sun-set ;  when  the  green 
hill-tops  are  turned  into  gold — and  their  long  shadows  of  melancholy  are 
thrown  over  the  valleys — when  all  the  breathings  of  day  are  hushed,  and 
nought  but  the  soft  notes  of  the  retiring  dove  can  be  heard  ;  or  the  still  softer 
and  more  plaintive  notes  of  the  wolf,  who  sneaks  through  these  scenes  of  en 
chantment,  and  mournfully  how — 1 s,  as  if  lonesome,  and  lost  in  the  too 

beautiful  quiet  and  stillness  about  him.     I  mean  this  prairie  ;  where  Heaven 
sheds  its  purest  light,  and  lends  its  richest  tints — this  round-topp'd  bluff, 

*  Some  months  after  writing  the  above,  and  after  I  had  arrived  safe  in  St.  Louis,  the 
news  reached  there  that  the  Dog  had  been  overtaken  and  killed,  and  a  brother  of  his  also, 
and  the  affair  thus  settled.  The  portraits  are  in  Vol.  II.  (PLATES  273,  274,  and  275),  and 
the  story  there  told. 

B    2 


where  the  foot  treads  soft  and  light — whose  steep  sides,  and  lofty  head,  rear 
me  to  the  skies,  overlooking  yonder  pictured  vale  of  beauty — this  solitary 
cedar-post,  which  tells  a  tale  of  grief — grief  that  was  keenly  felt,  and  tenderly, 
but  long  since  softened  in  the  march  of  time  and  lost.  Oh,  sad  and  tear- 
starting  contemplation  !  sole  tenant  of  this  stately  mound,  how  solitary  thy 
habitation  !  here  Heaven  wrested  from  thee  thy  ambition,  and  made  thee 
sleeping  monarch  of  this  land  of  silence. 

Stranger  !  oh,  how  the  mystic  web  of  sympathy  links  my  soul  to  thee  and 
thy  afflictions  !  I  knew  thee  not,  but  it  was  enough  ;  thy  tale  was  told,  and  I 
a  solitary  wanderer  through  thy  land,  have  stopped  to  drop  familiar  tears 
upon  thy  grave.  Pardon  this  gush  from  a  stranger's  eyes,  for  they  are  all 
that  thou  canst  have  in  this  strange  land,  where  friends  and  dear  relations 
are  not  allowed  to  pluck  a  flower,  and  drop  a  tear  to  freshen  recollections  of 
endearments  past. 

Stranger  !  adieu.  With  streaming  eyes  I  leave  thee  again,  and  thy  fairy 
land,  to  peaceful  solitude.  My  pencil  has  faithfully  traced  thy  beautiful 
habitation  ;  and  long  shall  live  in  the  world,  and  familiar,  the  name  of 
"  Floyd's  Grave." 

Readers,  pardon  this  digression.  I  have  seated  myself  down,  not  on  a 
prairie,  but  at  my  table,  by  a  warm  and  cheering  fire,  with  my  journal  before 
me  to  cull  from  it  a  few  pages,  for  your  entertainment ;  and  if  there  are 
spots  of  loveliness  and  beauty,  over  which  I  have  passed,  and  whose  images 
are  occasionally  beckoning  me  into  digressions,  you  must  forgive  me. 

Such  is  the  spot  I  have  just  named,  and  some  others,  on  to  which  I  am 
instantly  transferred  when  I  cast  my  eyes  back  upon  the  enamelled  and 
beautiful  shores  of  the  Upper  Missouri ;  and  I  am  constrained  to  step  aside 
and  give  ear  to  their  breathings,  when  their  soft  images,  and  cherished  asso 
ciations,  so  earnestly  prompt  me.  "  Floyd's  Grave"  is  a  name  given  to  one 
of  the  most  lovely  and  imposing  mounds  or  bluffs  on  the  Missouri  River, 
about  twelve  hundred  miles  above  St.  Louis,  from  the  melancholy  fate  of 
Serjeant  Floyd,  who  was  of  Lewis  and  Clark's  expedition,  in  1806;  who 
died  on  the  way,  and  whose  body  was  taken  to  this  beautiful  hill,  and  buried 
in  its  top,  where  now  stands  a  cedar  post,  bearing  the  initials  of  his  name 
(PLATE  118). 

I  landed  my  canoe  in  front  of  this  grass-covered  mound,  and  all  hands 
being  fatigued,  we  encamped  a  couple  of  days  at  its  base.  I  several 
times  ascended  it  and  sat  upon  his  grave,  overgrown  with  grass  and  the 
most  delicate  wild  flowers,  where  1  sat  and  contemplated  the  solitude 
and  stillness  of  this  tenanted  mound ;  and  beheld  from  its  top,  the 
windings  infinite  of  the  Missouri,  and  its  thousand  hills  and  domes  of  green, 
vanishing  into  blue  in  distance,  when  nought  but  the  soft-breathing  winds 
were  heard,  to  break  the  stillness  and  quietude  of  the  scene.  Where  not  the 
chirping  of  bird  or  sound  of  cricket,  nor  soaring  eagle's  scream,  were  inter 
posed  'tween  God  and  man  ;  nor  aught  to  check  man's  whole  surrender  of 


~ 


-^«^ 

----3^ 


s 


s&^gg$$ 

"  '%%*?*• 

'   \,  '^^"""i/jf  V  ' '  '    ^''''-'^ 

'•^''^j^vi^^U 


IIS 


his  soul  to  his  Creator.  I  could  not  hunt  upon  this  ground,  but  1  roamed 
from  hill-top  to  hill-top,  and  culled  wild  flowers,  and  looked  into  the  valley 
below  me,  both  up  the  river  and  down,  and  contemplated  the  thousand  hills 
and  dales  that  are  now  carpeted  with  green,  streaked  as  they  will  be,  with 
the  plough,  and  yellow  with  the  harvest  sheaf;  spotted  with  lowing  kine — 
with  houses  and  fences,  and  groups  of  hamlets  and  villas — and  these  lovely 
hill-tops  ringing  with  the  giddy  din  and  maze,  or  secret  earnest  whispers  of 
lovesick  swains — of  pristine  simplicity  and  virtue — •wholesome  and  well- 
earned  contentment  and  abundance — and  again,  of  wealth  and  refinements 
— of  idleness  and  luxury — of  vice  and  its  deformities — of  fire  and  sword,  and 
the  vengeance  of  offended  Heaven,  wreaked  in  retributive  destruction  ! — 
and  peace,  and  quiet,  and  loveliness,  and  silence,  dwelling  again,  over  and 
through  these  scenes,  and  blending  them  into  futurity  ! 

Many  such  scenes  there  are,  and  thousands,  on  the  Missouri  shores.  My 
canoe  has  been  stopped,  and  I  have  clambered  up  their  grassy  and  flower- 
decked  sides  ;  and  sighed  all  alone,  as  I  have  carefully  traced  and  fastened 
them  in  colours  on  my  canvass. 

This  voyage  in  my  little  canoe,  amid  the  thousand  islands  and  grass- 
covered  bluffs  that  stud  the  shores  of  this  mighty  river,  afforded  me  infinite 
pleasure,  mingled  with  pains  and  privations  which  I  never  shall  wish  to  for 
get.  Gliding  along  from  day  to  day,  and  tiring  our  eyes  on  the  varying 
landscapes  that  were  continually  opening  to  our  view,  my  merry  voyugeurs 
were  continually  chaunting  their  cheerful  boat  songs,  and  "  every  now  and 
then,"  taking  up  their  unerring  rifles  to  bring  down  the  stately  elks  or  ante 
lopes,  which  were  often  gazing  at  us  from  the  shores  of  the  river. 

But  a  few  miles  from  "  Floyd's  Bluff"  we  landed  our  canoe,  and  spent 
a  day  in  the  vicinity  of  the  "  Black  Bird's  Grave."  This  is  a  celebrated 
point  on  the  Missouri,  and  a  sort  of  telegraphic  place,  which  all  the  travellers 
in  these  realms,  both  white  and  red,  are  in  the  habit  of  visiting  :  the  one  to 
pay  respect  to  the  bones  of  one  of  their  distinguished  leaders  ;  and  the  others, 
to  indulge  their  eyes  on  the  lovely  landscape  that  spreads  out  to  an  almost 
illimitable  extent  in  every  direction  about  it.  This  elevated  bluff,  which  may 
be  distinguished  for  several  leagues  in  distance  (PLATE  117),  has  received 
the  name  of  the  "  Black  Bird's  Grave,"  from  the  fact,  that  a  famous  chief 
of  the  O-ma-haws,  by  the  name  of  the  Black  Bird,  was  buried  on  its  top,  at 
his  own  peculiar  request ;  over  whose  grave  a  cedar  post  was  erected  by  his 
tribe  some  thirty  years  ago,  which  is  still  standing.  The  O -ma-haw  village 
was  about  sixty  miles  above  this  place  ;  and  this  very  noted  chief,  who  had 
been  on  a  visit  to  Washington  City,  in  company  with  the  Indian  agent,  died 
of  the  small-pox,  near  this  spot,  on  his  return  home.  And,  whilst  dying, 
enjoined  on  his  warriors  who  were  about  him,  this  singular  request,  which 
was  literally  complied  with.  He  requested  them  to  take  his  body  down  the 
river  to  this  his  favourite  haunt,  and  on  the  pinnacle  of  this  towering  bluff, 
to  bury  him  on  the  back  of  his  favourite  war-horse,  which  was  to  be  buried 


alive,  under  him,  from  whence  he  could  see,  as  he  said,  "  the  Frenchmen 
passing  up  and  down  the  river  in  their  boats."  He  owned,  amongst  many 
horses,  a  noble  white  steed  that  was  led  to  the  top  of  the  grass-covered  hill ; 
and,  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony,  in  presence  of  the  whole  Cation,  and 
several  of  the  Fur  Traders  and  the  Indian  agent,  he  was  placed  astride  of 
his  horse's  back,  with  his  bow  in  his  hand,  and  his  shield  and  quiver  slung — 
with  his  pipe  and  his  medicine-bag — with  his  supply  of  dried  meat,  and  his 
tobacco-pouch  replenished  to  last  him  through  his  journey  to  the  "  beautiful 
hunting  grounds  of  the  shades  of  his  fathers" — with  his  flint  and  steel,  and 
his  tinder,  to  light  his  pipes  by  the  way.  The  scalps  that  he  had  taken  from 
his  enemies'  heads,  could  be  trophies  for  nobody  else,  and  were  hung  to  the 
bridle  of  his  horse — he  was  in  full  dress  and  fully  equipped  ;  and  on  his 
head  waved,  to  the  last  moment,  his  beautiful  head-dress  of  the  war-eagle's 
plumes.  In  this  plight,  and  the  last  funeral  honours  having  been  performed 
by  the  medicine-men,  every  warrior  of  his  band  painted  the  palm  and  fingers 
of  his  right  hand  with  vermilion  ;  which  was  stamped,  and  perfectly  im 
pressed  on  the  milk-white  sides  of  his  devoted  horse. 

This  all  done,  turfs  were  brought  and  placed  around  the  feet  and  legs  of 
the  horse,  and  gradually  laid  up  to  its  sides  ;  and  at  last,  over  the  back  and 
head  of  the  unsuspecting  animal,  and  last  of  all,  over  the  head  and  even  the 
eagle  plumes  of  its  valiant  rider,  where  altogether  have  smouldered  and 
remained  undisturbed  to  the  present  day. 

This  mound  which  is  covered  with  a  green  turf,  and  spotted  with  wild 
flowers,  with  its  cedar  post  in  its  centre,  can  easily  be  seen  at  the  distance  of  fif 
teen  miles,  bythevoyageur,  and  formsforhim  a  familiar  and  useful  land-mark. 

Whilst  visiting  this  mound  in  company  with  Major  Sanford,  on  our  way 
up  the  river,  I  discovered  in  a  hole  made  in  the  mound,  by  a  "  ground  hog" 
or  other  animal,  the  skull  of  the  horse  ;  and  by  a  little  pains,  also  came  at 
the  skull  of  the  chief,  which  1  carried  to  the  river  side,  and  secreted  till  my 
return  in  my  canoe,  when  I  took  it  in,  and  brought  with  me  to  this  place, 
where  I  now  have  it,  with  others  which  I  have  collected  on  my  route. 

There  have  been  some  very  surprising  tales  told  of  this  man,  which  will 
render  him  famous  in  history,  whether  they  be  truth  or  matters  of  fiction.  Of 
the  many,  one  of  the  most  current  is,  that  he  gained  his  celebrity  and 
authority  by  the  most  diabolical  series  of  murders  in  his  own  tribe  ;  by 
administering  arsenic  (with  which  he  had  been  supplied  by  the  Fur  Traders) 
to  such  of  his  enemies  as  he  wished  to  get  rid  of — and  even  to  others  in  his 
tribe  whom  he  was  willing  to  sacrifice,  merely  to  establish  his  superhuman 
powers,  and  the  most  servile  dread  of  the  tribe,  from  the  certainty  with  which 
his  victims  fell  around  him,  precisely  at  the  times  he  saw  fit  to  predict  their 
death  !  .It  has  been  said  that  he  administered  this  potent  drug,  and  to  them 
unknown  medicine,  to  many  of  his  friends  as  well  as  lo  foes ;  and  by  such 
an  inhuman  and  unparalleled  depravity,  succeeded  in  exercising  the  most 
despotic  and  absolute  authority  in  his  tribe,  until  the  time  of  his  death  ! 


This  story  may  be  true,  and  it  may  not.  I  cannot  contradict  it ;  and  I  am 
sure  the  world  will  forgive  me,  if  I  say,  I  cannot  believe  it.  If  it  be  true, 
two  things  are  also  true  ;  the  one,  not  much  to  the  credit  of  the  Indian 
character;  and  the  other,  to  the  everlasting  infamy  of  the  Fur  Traders  If 
it  be  true,  it  furnishes  an  instance  of  Indian  depravity  that  I  never  have  else 
where  heard  of  in  my  travels  ;  and  carries  the  most  conclusive  proof  of  the 
incredible  enormity  of  white  men's  dealings  in  this  country ;  who,  for  some 
sinister  purpose  must  have  introduced  the  poisonous  drug  into  the  country, 
and  taught  the  poor  chief  how  to  use  it ;  whilst  they  were  silent  accessories 
to  the  murders  he  was  committing.  This  story  is  said  to  have  been  told  by 
the  Fur  Traders  ;  and  although  I  have  not  always  the  highest  confidence  in 
their  justice  to  the  Indian,  yet,  I  cannot  for  the  honour  of  my  own  species, 
believe  them  to  be  so  depraved  and  so  wicked,  nor  so  weak,  as  to  reveal  such 
iniquities  of  this  chief,  if  they  were  true,  which  must  directly  implicate  them 
selves  as  accessories  to  his  most  wilful  and  unprovoked  murders. 

Such  he  has  been  heralded,  however,  to  future  ages,  as  a  murderer — like 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  others,  as  "  horse  thieves" — as  "  drunkards" — 
as  "  rogues  of  the  first  order,"  &c.  &c. — by  the  historian  who  catches  but  a 
glaring  story,  (and  perhaps  fabrication)  of  their  lives,  and  has  no  time  nor 
disposition  to  enquire  into  and  record  their  long  and  brilliant  list  of  virtues, 
which  must  be  lost  in  the  shade  of  infamy,  for  want  of  an  historian. 

I  have  learned  much  of  this  noble  chieftain,  and  at  a  proper  time  shall 
recount  the  modes  of  his  civil  and  military  life — how  he  exposed  his  life,  and 
shed  his  blood  in  rescuing  the  victims  to  horrid  torture,  and  abolished  that 
savage  custom  in  his  tribe — how  he  led  on  and  headed  his  brave  warriors, 
against  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  ;  and  saved  the  butchery  of  his  women  and 
children— how  he  received  the  Indian  agent,  and  entertained  him  in  his 
hospitable  v/igwam,  in  his  village — and  how  he  conducted  and  acquitted 
himself  on  his  embassy  to  the  civilized  world. 

So  much  I  will  take  pains  to  say,  of  a  man  whom  I  never  saw,  because 
other  historians  have  taken  equal  pains  just  to  mention  his  name,  and  a  soli 
tary  (and  doubtful)  act  of  his  life,  as  they  have  said  of  hundreds  of  others, 
for  the  purpose  of  consigning  him  to  infamy. 

How  much  more  kind  would  it  have  been  for  the  historian,  who  never  saw 
him,  to  have  enumerated  with  this,  other  characteristic  actions  of  his  life 
(for  the  verdict  of  the  world) ;  or  to  have  allowed,  in  charity,  his  bones  and 
his  name  to  have  slept  in  silence,  instead  of  calling  them  up  from  the  grave, 
to  thrust  a  dagger  through  them,  and  throw  them  back  again. 

Book-making  now-a-days,  is  done  for  money-making  ;  and  he  who  takes 
the  Indian  for  his  theme,  and  cannot  go  and  see  him,  finds  a  poverty  in  his 
matter  that  naturally  begets  error,  by  grasping  at  every  little  tale  that  is 
brought  or  fabricated  by  their  enemies.  Such  books  are  standards,  because 
they  are  made  for  white  man's  reading  only  ;  and  herald  the  character  of  a 
people  who  never  can  disprove  them.  They  answer  the  purpose  for  which 


8 

they  are  written  ;  and  the  poor  Indian  who  has  no  redress,  stands  stigmatized 
and  branded,  as  a  murderous  wretch  and  beast. 

If  the  system  of  book-making'  and  newspaper  printing  were  in  operation 
in  the  Indian  country  awhile,  to  herald  the  iniquities  and  horrible  barbarities 
of  white  men  in  these  Western  regions,  which  now  are  sure  to  be  overlooked  ; 
I  venture  to  say,  that  chapters  would  soon  be  printed,  which  would  sicken  the 
reader  to  his  heart,  and  set  up  the  Indian,  a  fair  and  tolerable  man. 

There  is  no  more  beautiful  prairie  country  in  the  world,  than  that  which  is 
to  be  seen  in  this  vicinity.  In  looking  back  from  this  bluff,  towards  the 
West,  there  is,  to  an  almost  boundless  extent,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
scenes  imaginable.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  gracefully  and  slightly 
undulating,  like  the  swells  of  the  retiring  ocean  after  a  heavy  storm.  And 
everywhere  covered  with  a  beautiful  green  turf,  and  with  occasional  patches 
and  clusters  of  trees.  The  soil  in  this  region  is  also  rich,  and  capable  of 
making  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  productive  countries  in  the  world. 

Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  used  their  rifles  to  some  effect  during  the  day  that 
we  loitered  here,  and  gathered  great  quantities  of  delicious  grapes.  From 
this  lovely  spot  we  embarked  the  next  morning,  and  glided  through  con 
stantly  changing  scenes  of  beauty,  until  we  landed  our  canoe  at  the  base  of 
a  beautiful  series  of  grass-covered  bluffs,  which,  like  thousands  and  thousands 
of  others  on  the  banks  of  this  river,  are  designated  by  no  name,  that  I  know 
of ;  and  I  therefore  introduce  them  as  fair  specimens  of  the  grassy  bluffs 
of  the  Missouri. 

My  canoe  was  landed  at  noon,  at  the  base  of  these  picturesque  hills — and 
there  rested  till  the  next  morning.  As  soon  as  we  were  ashore,  I  scrambled 
to  their  summits,  and  beheld,  even  to  a  line,  what  the  reader  has  before 
him  in  PLATES  119  and  120.  I  took  my  easel,  and  canvass  and  brushes, 
to  the  top  of  the  bluff,  and  painted  the  two  views  from  the  same  spot ;  the 
one  looking  up,  and  the  other  down  the  river.  The  reader,  by  imagining 
these  hills  to  be  five  or  six  hundred  feet  high,  and  every  foot  of  them,  as 
far  as  they  can  be  discovered  in  distance,  covered  with  a  vivid  green  turf, 
whilst  the  sun  is  gilding  one  side,  and  throwing  a  cool  shadow  on  the  other, 
will  be  enabled  to  form  something  like  an  adequate  idea  of  the  shores  of 
the  Missouri.  From  this  enchanting  spot  there  was  nothing  to  arrest  the 
eye  from  ranging  over  its  waters  for  the  distance  of  twenty  or  thirty  miles, 
where  it  quietly  glides  between  its  barriers,  formed  of  thousands  of  green 
and  gracefully  sloping  hills,  with  its  rich  and  alluvial  meadows,  and  wood 
lands — and  its  hundred  islands,  covered  with  stately  cotton-wood. 

In  these  two  views,  the  reader  has  a  fair  account  of  the  general  character 
of  the  Upper  Missouri ;  and  by  turning  back  to  PLATE  39,  VOL.  I.,  which 
I  have  .already  described,  he  will  at  once  see  the  process  by  which  this 
wonderful  formation  has  been  produced.  In  that  plate  will  be  seen  the 
manner  in  which  the  rains  are  wearing  down  the  clay-bluffs,  cutting  gullies 
or  sluices  behind  them,  and  leaving  them  at  last  to  stand  out  in  relief,  in 


-__,-»-  ,;__rJx"-~_^->- 


9 

these  rounded  and  graceful  forms,  until  in  time  they  get  seeded  over,  and 
nourish  a  growth  of  green  grass  on  their  sides,  which  forms  a  turf,  and  pro 
tects  their  surface,  preserving  them  for  centuries,  in  the  forms  that  are  here 
seen.  The  tops  of  the  highest  of  these  bluffs  rise  nearly  up  to  the  summit 
level  of  the  prairies,  which  is  found  as  soon  as  one  travels  a  mile  or  so  from 
the  river,  amongst  these  picturesque  groups,  and  comes  out  at  their  top ; 
from  whence  the  country  goes  off  to  the  East  and  the  West,  with  an  almost 
perfectly  level  surface. 

These  two  views  were  taken  about  thirty  miles  above  the  village  of  the 
Puncahs,  and  five  miles  above  "  the  Tower  ;"  the  name  given  by  the  travel 
lers  through  the  country,  to  a  high  and  remarkable  clay  bluff,  rising  to  the 
height  of  some  hundreds  of  feet  from  the  water,  and  having  in  distance,  the 
castellated  appearance  of  a  fortification. 

My  canoe  was  not  unmoored  from  the  shores  of  this  lovely  spot  for  two 
days,  except  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  the  river;  which  I  several  times  did, 
to  ascend  and  examine  the  hills  on  the  opposite  side.  I  had  Ba'tiste  and 
Bogard  with  me  on  the  tops  of  these  green  carpeted  bluffs,  and  tried  in  vain 
to  make  them  see  the  beauty  of  scenes  that  were  about  us.  They  dropped 
asleep,  and  I  strolled  and  contemplated  alone  ;  clambering  "up  one  hill"  and 
sliding  or  running  "down  another"  with  no  other  living  being  in  sight,  save  now 
and  then  a  bristling  wolf,  which,  from  my  approach,  was  reluctantly  retreating 
from  his  shady  lair — or  sneaking  behind  me  and  smelling  on  my  track. 

Whilst  strolling  about  on  the  western  bank  of  the  river  at  this  place,  I 
found  the  ancient  site  of  an  Indian  village,  which,  from  the  character  of  the 
marks,  I  am  sure  was  once  the  residence  of  the  Mandans.  I  said  in  a 
former  Letter,  when  speaking  of  the  Mandans,  that  within  the  recollection  of 
some  of  their  oldest  men,  they  lived  some  sixty  or  eighty  miles  down  the  river 
from  the  place  of  their  present  residence;  and  that  they  then  lived  in  nine 
villages.  On  my  way  down,  I  became  fully  convinced  of  the  fact ;  having 
landed  my  canoe,  and  examined  the  ground  where  the  foundation  of  every 
wigwam  can  yet  be  distinctly  seen.  At  that  time,  they  must  have  been 
much  more  numerous  than  at  present,  from  the  many  marks  they  have  left, 
as  well  as  from  their  own  representations. 

The  Mandans  have  a  peculiar  way  of  building  their  wigwams,  by  digging 
down  a  couple  of  feet  in  the  earth,  and  there  fixing  the  ends  of  the  poles 
which  form  the  walls  of  their  houses.  There  are  other  marks,  such  as  their 
caches — and  also  their  mode  of  depositing  their  dead  on  scaffolds — and 
of  preserving  the  skulls  in  circles  on  the  prairies  ;  which  peculiar  customs  I 
have  before  described,  and  most  of  which  are  distinctly  to  be  recognized  in 
each  of  these  places,  as  well  as  in  several  similar  remains  which  I  have  met 
with  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  between  here  and  the  Mandans ;  which  fully 
convince  me,  that  they  have  formerly  occupied  the  lower  parts  of  the  Missouri, 
and  have  gradually  made  their  way  quite  through  the  heart  of  the  great 
Sioux  country  ;  and  having  been  well  fortified  in  all  their  locations,  as  in 

VOL.  II.  C 


10 

their  present  one,  by  a  regular  stockade  and  ditch  ;  they  have  been  able 
successfully  to  resist  the  continual  assaults  of  the  Sioux,  that  numerous 
tribe,  who  have  been,  and  still  are,  endeavouring  to  effect  their  entire  de 
struction.  1  have  examined,  at  least  fifteen  or  twenty  of  their  ancient 
locations  on  the  banks  of  this  river,  and  can  easily  discover  the  regular 
differences  in  the  ages  of  these  antiquities ;  and  around  them  all  I  have 
found  numerous  bits  of  their  broken  pottery,  corresponding  with  that  which 
they  are  now  manufacturing  in  great  abundance  ;  and  which  is  certainly 
made  by  no  other  tribe  in  these  regions.  These  evidences,  and  others  which 
I  shall  not  take  the  time  to  mention  in  this  place,  go  a  great  way  in  my 
mind  towards  strengthening  the  possibility  of  their  having  moved  from  the 
Ohio  river,  and  of  their  being  a  remnant  of  the  followers  of  Madoc.  I  have 
much  further  to  trace  them  yet,  however,  and  shall  certainly  have  more  to 
say  on  so  interesting  a  subject  in  future. 

Almost  every  mile  I  have  advanced  on  the  banks  of  this  river,  I  have  met 
evidences  and  marks  of  Indians  in  some  form  or  other ;  and  they  have 
generally  been  those  of  the  Sioux,  who  occupy  and  own  the  greater  part  of 
this  immense  region  of  country.  In  the  latter  part  of  my  voyage,  however, 
and  of  which  I  have  been  speaking  in  the  former  part  of  this  Letter,  I  met 
the  ancient  sites  of  the  O-ma-ha  and  Ot-to  towns,  which  are  easily  detected 
when  they  are  met.  In  PLATE  121  (letter  A),  is  seen  the  usual  mode  of  the 
Omahas,  of  depositing  their  dead  in  the  crotches  and  on  the  branches  of 
trees,  enveloped  in  skins,  and  never  without  a  wooden  dish  hanging  by  the 
head  of  the  corpse  ;  probably  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  it  to  dip  up  water 
to  quench  its  thirst  on  the  long  and  tedious  journey,  which  they  generally 
expect  to  enter  on  after  death.  These  corpses  are  so  frequent  along  the 
banks  of  the  river,  that  in  some  places  a  dozen  or  more  of  them  may  be 
seen  at  one  view. 

Letter  B  in  the  same  plate,  shews  the  customs  of  the  Sioux,  which  are 
found  in  endless  numbers  on  the  river  ;  and  in  fact,  through  every  part  of 
this  country.  The  wigwams  of  these  people  are  only  moveable  tents,  and 
leave  but  a  temporary  mark  to  be  discovered.  Their  burials,  however,  are 
peculiar  and  lasting  remains,  which  can  be  long  detected.  They  often  de 
posit  their  dead  on  trees,  and  on  scaffolds  ;  but  more  generally  bury  in  the 
tops  of  bluffs,  or  near  their  villages  ;  when  they  often  split  out  staves  and 
drive  in  the  ground  around  the  grave,  to  protect  it  from  the  trespass  of  dogs 
or  wild  animals. 

Letter  c  (same  plate),  shews  the  character  of  Mandan  remains,  that  are 
met  with  in  numerous  places  on  the  river.  Their  mode  of  resting  their 
dead  upon  scaffolds  is  not  so  peculiar  to  them  as  positively  to  distinguish 
them  from  Sioux,  who  sometimes  bury  in  the  same  way  ;  but  the  excava 
tions  for  their  earth-covered  wigwams,  which  I  have  said  are  two  feet  deep 
in  the  ground,  with  the  ends  of  the  decayed  timbers  remaining  in  them,  are 
peculiar  and  conclusive  evidence  of  their  being  of  Mandan  construction  ; 


'' 


v  .      ., 


I  _ 


11 

and  the  custom  of  leaving  the  skulls  bleached  upon  the  ground  in  circles  (as 
I  have  formerly  described  in  PLATE  48,  VOL.  I.),  instead  of  burying  them  as 
the  other  tribes  do,  forms  also  a  strong  evidence  of  the  fact  that  they  are 
Mandan  remains. 

In  most  of  these  sites  of  their  ancient  towns,  however,  I  have  been  unable 
to  find  about  their  burial  places,  these  characteristic  deposits  of  the  skulls  ; 
from  which  I  conclude,  that  whenever  they  deliberately  moved  to  a  different 
region,  they  buried  the  skulls  out  of  respect  to  the  dead.  I  found,  just  back 
of  one  of  these  sites  of  their  ancient  towns,  however,  and  at  least  500  miles 
below  where  they  now  live,  the  same  arrangement  of  skulls  as  that  I 
described  in  PLATE  48.  They  had  laid  so  long,  however,  exposed  to  the 
weather,  that  they  were  reduced  almost  to  a  powder,  except  the  teeth, 
which  mostly  seemed  polished  and  sound  as  ever.  It  seems  that  no  human 
hands  had  dared  to  meddle  with  the  dead  ;  and  that  even  their  enemies 
had  respected  them  ;  for  every  one,  and  there  were  at  least  two  hundred  in 
one  circle,  had  mouldered  to  chalk,  in  its  exact  relative  position,  as  they 
had  been  placed  in  a  circle.  In  this  case,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  village 
was  besieged  by  the  Sioux,  and  entirely  destroyed  ;  or  that  the  Mandans 
were  driven  off  without  the  power  to  stop  and  bury  the  bones  of  their  dead. 

Belle  Vue  (PLATE  122)  is  a  lovely  scene  on  the  West  bank  of  the  river, 
about  nine  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Platte,  and  is  the  agency  of  Major 
Dougherty,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  effective  agents  on  our  frontiers. 
This  spot  is,  as  I  said,  lovely  in  itself ;  but  doubly  so  to  the  eye  of  the 
weather-beaten  voyageur  from  the  sources  of  the  Missouri,  who  steers  his 
canoe  in,  to  the  shore,  as  I  did,  and  soon  finds  himself  a  welcome  guest  at 
the  comfortable  board  of  the  Major,  with  a  table  again  to  eat  from — and 
that  (not  "groaning,"  but)  standing  under  the  comfortable  weight  of  meat 
and  vegetable  luxuries,  products  of  the  labour  of  cultivating  man.  It  was  a 
pleasure  to  see  again,  in  this  great  wilderness,  a  civilized  habitation  ;  and 
still  more  pleasant  to  find  it  surrounded  with  corn-fields,  and  potatoes,  with 
numerous  fruit-trees,  bending  under  the  weight  of  their  fruit — with  pigs  and 
poultry,  and  kine  ;  and  what  was  best  of  all,  to  see  the  kind  and  benevolent 
face,  that  never  looked  anything  but  welcome  to  the  half-starved  guests, 
who  throw  themselves  upon  him  from  the  North,  from  the  South,  the  East, 
or  the  West. 

At  this  place  1  was  in  the  country  of  the  Pawnees,  a  numerous  tribe, 
whose  villages  are  on  the  Platte  river,  and  of  whom  I  shall  say  more  anon. 
Major  Dougherty  has  been  for  many  years  the  agent  for  this  hostile  tribe ; 
and  by  his  familiar  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character,  and  his  strict  honesty 
and  integrity,  he  has  been  able  to  effect  a  friendly  intercourse  with  them, 
and  also  to  attract  the  applause  and  highest  confidence  of  the  world,  as  well 
as  of  the  authorities  who  sent  him  there. 

An  hundred  miles  above  this,  I  passed  a  curious  feature,  called  the 
"Square  Hills"  (PLATE  123).  I  landed  my  canoe,  and  went  ashore,  and 

c2 


12 

to  their  tops,  to  examine  them.  Though  they  appeared  to  be  near  the  river, 
I  found  it  half  a  day's  journey  to  travel  to  and  from  them  ;  they  being 
several  miles  from  the  river.  On  ascending  them  I  found  them  to  be  two  or 
three  hundred  feet  high,  and  rising  on  their  sides  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees; 
and  on  their  tops,  in  some  places,  for  half  a  mile  in  length,  perfectly  level, 
with  a  green  turf,  and  corresponding  exactly  with  the  tabular  hills  spoken 
of  above  the  Mandans,  in  PLATE  39,  VOL.  I.  I  therein  said,  that  I  should 
visit  these  hills  on  my  way  down  the  river ;  and  I  am  fully  convinced,  from 
close  examination,  that  they  are  a  part  of  the  same  original  superstratum, 
which  I  therein  described,  though  seven  or  eight  hundred  miles  separated 
from  them.  They  agree  exactly  in  character,  and  also  in  the  materials  of 
which  they  are  composed  ;  and  I  believe,  that  some  unaccountable  gorge 
of  waters  has  swept  away  the  intervening  earth,  leaving  these  solitary  and 
isolated,  though  incontrovertible  evidences,  that  the  summit  level  of  all  this 
great  valley  has  at  one  time  been  where  the  level  surface  of  these  hills  now 
is,  two  or  three  hundred  feet  above  what  is  now  generally  denominated  the 
summit  level. 

The  mouth  of  the  Platte  (PLATE  124),  is  a  beautiful  scene,  and  no  doubt 
will  be  the  site  of  a  large  and  flourishing  town,  soon  after  Indian  titles  shall 
have  been  extinguished  to  the  lands  in  these  regions,  which  will  be  done 
within  a  very  few  years.  The  Platte  is  a  long  and  powerful  stream,  pouring 
in  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  joining  with  the  Missouri  at  this  place. 

In  this  voyage,  as  in  all  others  that  I  have  performed,  I  kept  my  journal, 
but  I  have  not  room,  it  will  be  seen,  to  insert  more  than  an  occasional  extract 
from  it  for  my  present  purpose.  In  this  voyage,  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  were 
my  constant  companions  ;  and  we  all  had  our  rifles,  and  used  them  often. 
We  often  went  ashore  amongst  the  herds  of  buffaloes,  and  were  obliged  to 
do  so  for  our  daily  food.  We  lived  the  whole  way  on  buffaloes'  flesh  and 
venison — we  had  no  bread  ;  but  laid  in  a  good  stock  of  coffee  and  sugar. 
These,  however,  from  an  unforeseen  accident  availed  us  but  little  ;  as  on 
the  second  or  third  day  of  our  voyage,  after  we  had  taken  our  coffee  on  the 
shore,  and  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  had  gone  in  pursuit  of  a  herd  of  buffaloes, 
I  took  it  in  my  head  to  have  an  extra  very  fine  dish  of  coffee  to  myself,  as 
the  fire  was  fine.  For  this  purpose,  I  added  more  coffee-grounds  to  the  pot, 
and  placed  it  on  the  fire,  which  I  sat  watching,  when  I  saw  a  fine  buffalo  cow 
wending  her  way  leisurely  over  the  hills,  but  a  little  distance  from  me,  for 
whom  I  started  at  once,  with  my  rifle  trailed  in  my  hand  ;  and  after  creep 
ing,  and  running,  and  heading,  and  all  that,  for  half  an  hour,  without  get 
ting  a  shot  at  her ;  I  came  back  to  the  encampment,  where  I  found  my 
two  men  with  meat  enough,  but  in  the  most  uncontroulable  rage,  for  my 
coffee  had  all  boiled  out,  and  the  coffee-pot  was  melted  to  pieces  ! 

This  was  truly  a  deplorable  accident,  and  one  that  could  in  no  effectual  way 
be  remedied.  We  afterwards  botched  up  a  mess  or  two  of  it  in  our  frying-pan, 
but  to  little  purpose,  and  then  abandoned  it  to  Bogard  alone,  who  thank- 


r ' 


V>.  I 


fully  received  the  dry  coffee-grounds  and  sugar,  at  his  meals,  which  he  soon 
entirely  demolished. 

We  met  immense  numbers  of  buffaloes  in  the  early  part  of  our  voyage 
and  used  to  land  our  canoe  almost  every  hour  in  the  day ;  and  oftentimes 
all  together  approach  the  unsuspecting  herds,  through  some  deep  and  hidden 
ravine  within  a  few  rods  of  them,  and  at  the  word,  "  pull  trigger,"  each 
of  us  bring  down  our  victim  (PLATE  125). 

In  one  instance,  near  the  mouth  of  White  River,  we  met  the  most  immense 
herd  crossing  the  Missouri  River — and  from  an  imprudence  got  our  boat  into 
imminent  danger  amongst  them,  from  which  we  were  highly  delighted  to 
make  our  escape.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  "  running  season,"  and  we 
had  heard  the  "  roaring"  (as  it  is  called)  of  the  herd,  when  we  were  several 
miles  from  them.  When  we  came  in  sight,  we  were  actually  terrified  at  the 
immense  numbers  that  were  streaming  down  the  green  hills  on  one  side  of 
the  river,  and  galloping  up  and  over  the  bluffs  on  the  other.  The  river  was 
filled,  and  in  parts  blackened,  with  their  heads  and  horns,  as  they  were 
swimming  about,  following  up  their  objects,  and  making  desperate  battle 
whilst  they  were  swimming. 

1  deemed  it  imprudent  for  our  canoe  to  be  dodging  amongst  them,  and  ran 
it  ashore  for  a  few  hours,  where  we  laid,  waiting  for  the  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  river  clear  ;  but  we  waited  in  vain.  Their  numbers,  however,  got  some 
what  diminished  at  last,  and  we  pushed  off,  and  successfully  made  our  way 
amongst  them.  From  the  immense  numbers  that  had  passed  the  river  at 
that  place,  they  had  torn  down  the  prairie  bunk  of  fifteen  feet  in  height,  so 
as  to  form  a  sort  of  road  or  landing-place,  where  they  all  in  succession 
clambered  up.  Many  in  their  turmoil  had  been  wafted  below  this  landing, 
and  unable  to  regain  it  against  the  swiftness  of  the  current,  had  fastened 
themselves  along  in  crowds,  hugging  close  to  the  high  bank  under  which 
they  were  standing.  As  we  were  drifting  by  these,  and  supposing  ourselves 
out  of  danger,  I  drew  up  my  rifle  and  shot  one  of  them  in  the  head,  which 
tumbled  into  the  water,  and  brought  with  him  a  hundred  others,  which 
plunged  in,  and  in  a  moment  were  swimming  about  our  canoe,  and  placing  it 
in  great  danger  (PLATE  126).  No  attack  was  made  upon  us,  and  in  the 
confusion  the  poor  beasts  knew  not,  perhaps,  the  enemy  that  was  amongst 
them  ;  but  we  were  liable  to  be  sunk  by  them,  as  they  were  furiously  hooking 
and  climbing  on  to  each  other.  I  rose  in  my  canoe,  and  by  my  gestures 
and  hallooing,  kept  them  from  coming  in  contact  with  us,  until  we  were  out 
of  their  reach. 

This  was  one  of  the  instances  that  I  formerly  spoke  of,  where  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  these  animals  congregate  in  the  running  season,  and 
move  about  from  East  and  West,  or  wherever  accident  or  circumstances  may 
lead  them.  In  this  grand  crusade,  no  one  can  know  the  numbers  that  may 
have  made  the  ford  within  a  few  days ;  nor  in  their  blinded  fury  in  such 
scenes,  would  feeble  man  be  much  respected. 


14 

During  the  remainder  of  that  day  we  paddled  onward,  and  passed  many 
of  their  carcasess  floating  on  the  current,  or  lodged  on  the  heads  of  islands 
and  sand-bars.  And,  in  the  vicinity  of,  and  not  far  below  the  grand  tur 
moil,  we  passed  several  that  were  mired  in  the  quicksand  near  the  shores; 
some  were  standing  fast  and  half  immersed ;  whilst  others  were  nearly  out 
of  sight,  and  gasping  for  the  last  breath;  others  were  standing  with  all  legs 
fast,  and  one  half  of  their  bodies  above  the  water,  and  their  heads  sunk 
under  it,  where  they  had  evidently  remained  several  days  ;  and  flocks  of 
ravens  and  crows  were  covering  their  backs,  and  picking  the  flesh  from  their 
dead  bodies. 

So  much  of  the  Upper  Missouri  and  its  modes,  at  present ;  though  I  have 
much  more  in  store  for  some  future  occasion. 

Fort  Leavenworth,  which  is  on  the  Lower  Missouri,  being  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Platte,  is  the  nucleus  of  another  neighbourhood  of  Indians,  amongst 
whom  I  am  to  commence  my  labours,  and  of  whom  I  shall  soon  be  enabled 
to  give  some  account.  So,  for  the  present,  Adieu. 


• 

.. 
*     .' 


125 


^r-' 


126 


TfftWtt.': 


15 


LETTER— No.  33. 


FORT  LEAVEN  WORTH,  LOWER  MISSOURI. 

I  MENTIONED  in  a  former  epistle,  that  this  is  the  extreme  outpost  on  the 
Western  Frontier,  and  built,  like  several  others,  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian 
country.  There  is  no  finer  tract  of  lands  in  North  America,  or,  perhaps,  in 
the  world,  than  that  vast  space  of  prairie  country,  which  lies  in  the  vicinity 
of  this  post,  embracing  it  on  all  sides.  This  garrison,  like  many  others  on 
the  frontiers,  is  avowedly  placed  here  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  our  fron 
tier  inhabitants  from  the  incursions  of  Indians  ;  and  also  for  the  purpose  of 
preserving  the  peace  amongst  the  different  hostile  tribes,  who  seem  con 
tinually  to  wage,  and  glory  in,  their  deadly  wars.  How  far  these  feeble 
garrisons,  which  are  generally  but  half  manned,  have  been,  or  will  be,  able 
to  intimidate  and  controul  the  warlike  ardour  of  these  restless  and  revenge 
ful  spirits  ;  or  how  far  they  will  be  able  in  desperate  necessity,  to  protect 
the  lives  and  property  of  the  honest  pioneer,  is  yet  to  be  tested. 

They  have  doubtless  been  designed  with  the  best  views,  to  effect  the  most 
humane  objects,  though  I  very  much  doubt  the  benefits  that  are  anticipated 
to  flow  from  them,  unless  a  more  efficient  number  of  men  are  stationed  in 
them  than  I  have  generally  found  ;  enough  to  promise  protection  to  the 
Indian,  and  then  to  ensure  it;  instead  of  promising,  and  leaving  them  to 
seek  it  in  their  own  way  at  last,  and  when  they  are  least  prepared  to  do  it. 

When  I  speak  of  this  post  as  being  on  the  Lower  Missouri,  I  do  not 
wish  to  convey  the  idea  that  I  am  down  near  the  sea-coast,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  or  near  it  ;  I  only  mean  that  1  am  on  the  lower  part  «f  the  Mis 
souri,  yet  600  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi,  and  near  2000 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  into  which  trie  Mississippi  discharges  its  waters. 

In  this  delightful  Cantonment  there  are  generally  stationed  six  or  seven 
companies  of  infantry,  and  ten  or  fifteen  officers  ;  several  of  whom  have 
their  wives  and  daughters  with  them,  forming  a  very  pleasant  little  commu 
nity,  who  are  almost  continually  together  in  social  enjoyment  of  the  peculiar 
amusements  and  pleasures  of  this  wild  country.  Of  these  pastimes  they 
have  many,  such  as  riding  on  horseback  or  in  carriages  over  the  beautiful 
green  fields  of  the  prairies,  picking  strawberries  and  wild  plums — deer 
chasing — grouse  shooting — horse-racing,  and  other  amusements  of  the  gar 
rison,  in  which  they  are  almost  constantly  engaged  ;  enjoying  life  to  a  very 
high  degree. 


16 

In  these  delightful  amusements,  and  with  these  pleasing-  companions,  I 
have  been  for  a  while  participating  with  great  satisfaction  ;  I  have  joined 
several  times  in  the  deer-hunts,  and  more  frequently  in  grouse  shooting, 
which  constitutes  the  principal  amusement  of  this  place. 

This  delicious  bird,  which  is  found  in  great  abundance  in  nearly  all  the 
North  American  prairies,  and  most  generally  called  the  Prairie  Hen,  is, 
from  what  I  can  learn,  very  much  like  the  English  grouse,  or  heath  hen, 
both  in  size,  in  colour,  and  in  habits.  They  make  their  appearance  in 
these  parts  in  the  months  of  August  and  September,  from  the  higher  lati 
tudes,  where  they  go  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer,  to  raise  their  broods. 
This  is  the  season  for  the  best  sport  amongst  them  ;  and  the  whole  garrison, 
in  fact,  are  almost  subsisted  on  them  at  this  time,  owing  to  the  facility 
with  which  they  are  killed. 

I  was  lucky  enough  the  other  day,  with  one  of  the  officers  of  the  garrison,' 
to  gain  the  enviable  distinction  of  having  brought  in  together  seventy-five 
of  these  fine  birds,  which  we  killed  in  one  afternoon  ;  and  although  I  am 
quite  ashamed  to  confess  the  manner  in  which  we  killed  the  greater  part  of 
them,  I  am  not  so  professed  a  sportsman  as  to  induce  me  to  conceal  the 
fact.  We  had  a  fine  pointer,  and  had  legitimately  followed  the  sportsman's 
style  for  a  part  of  the  afternoon  ;  but  seeing  the  prairies  on  fire  several  miles 
ahead  of  us,  and  the  wind  driving  the  fire  gradually  towards  us,  we  found 
these  poor  birds  driven  before  its  long  line,  which  seemed  to  extend  from 
horizon  to  horizon,  and  they  were  flying  in  swarms  or  flocks  that  would  at 
times  almost  fill  the  air.  They  generally  flew  half  a  mile  or  so,  and  lit  down 
again  in  the  grass,  where  they  would  sit  until  the  fire  was  close  upon  them, 
and  then  they  would  rise  again.  We  observed  by  watching  their  motions, 
that  they  lit  in  great  numbers  in  every  solitary  tree  ;  and  we  placed  our 
selves  near  each  of  these  trees  in  turn,  and  shot  them  down  as  they  settled 
in  them;  sometimes  killing  five  or  six  at  a  shot,  by  getting  a  range  upon 
them. 

In  this  way  we  retreated  for  miles  before  the  flames,  in  the  midst  of  the 
flocks,  and^  keeping  company  with  them  where  they  were  carried  along  in 
advance  of  the  fire,  in  accumulating  numbers  ;  many  of  which  had  been 
driven  along  for  many  miles.  We  murdered  the  poor  birds  in  this  way, 
until  we  had  as  many  as  we  could  well  carry,  and  laid  our  course  back  to 
the  Fort,  where  we  got  much  credit  for  our  great  shooting,  and  where  we 
were  mutually  pledged  to  keep  the  secret. 

The  prairies  burning  form  some  of  the  most  beautiful  scenes  that  are  to 
be  witnessed  in  this  country,  and  also  some  of  the  most  sublime.  Every 
acre  of  these  vast  prairies  (being  covered  for  hundreds  and  hundreds  of 
miles,  with  a  crop  of  grass,  which  dies  and  dries  in  the  fall)  burns  over 
during  the  fall  or  early  in  the  spring,  leaving  the  ground  of  a  black  and 
doleful  colour. 

There  are  many  modes  by  which  the  fire  is  communicated  to  them,  both 


17 

by  white  men  and  by  Indians — par  accident ;  and  yet  many  more  where  it 
is  voluntarily  done  for  the  purpose  of  getting  a  fresh  crop  of  grass,  for  the 
grazing  of  their  horses,  and  also  for  easier  travelling  during  the  next  sum 
mer,  when  there  will  be  no  old  grass  to  lie  upon  the  prairies,  entangling 
the  feet  of  man  and  horse,  as  they  are  passing  over  them. 

Over  the  elevated  lands  and  prairie  bluffs,  where  the  grass  is  thin  and 
short,  the  fire  slowly  creeps  with  a  feeble  flame,  which  one  can  easily  step 
over  (PLATE  127)  ;  where  the  wild  animals  often  rest  in  their  lairs  until  the 
flames  almost  burn  their  noses,  when  they  will  reluctantly  rise,  and  leap 
over  it,  and  trot  off  amongst  the  cinders,  where  the  fire  has  past  and  left  the 
ground  as  black  as  jet.  These  scenes  at  night  become  indescribably  beau 
tiful,  when  their  flames  are  seen  at  many  miles  distance,  creeping  over  the  sides 
and  tops  of  the  bluffs,  appearing  to  be  sparkling  and  brilliant  chains  of 
liquid  fire  (the  hills  being  lost  to  the  view),  hanging  suspended  in  graceful 
festoons  from  the  skies. 

But  there  is  yet  another  character  of  burning  prairies  (PLATE  128),  that 
requires  another  Letter,  and  a  different  pen  to  describe — the  war,  or  hell  of 
fires  !  where  the  grass  is  seven  or  eight  feet  high,  as  is  often  the  case  for  many 
miles  together,  on  the  Missouri  bottoms ;  and  the  flames  are  driven  forward 
by  the  hurricanes,  which  often  sweep  over  the  vast  prairies  of  this  denuded 
country.  There  are  many  of  these  meadows  on  the  Missouri,  the  Platte, 
and  the  Arkansas,  of  many  miles  in  breadth,  which  are  perfectly  level,  with 
a  waving  grass,  so  high,  that  we  are  obliged  to  stand  erect  in  our  stirrups, 
in  order  to  look  over  its  waving  tops,  as  we  are  riding  through  it.  The  fire 
in  these,  before  such  a  wind,  travels  at  an  immense  and  frightful  rate, 
and  often  destroys,  on  their  fleetest  horses,  parties  of  Indians,  who  are 
so  unlucky  as  to  be  overtaken  by  it ;  not  that  it  travels  as  fast  as  a  horse 
at  full  speed,  but  that  the  high  grass  is  filled  with  wild  pea-vines  and  other 
impediments,  which  render  it  necessary  for  the  rider  to  guide  his  horse  in 
the  zig-zag  paths  of  the  deers  and  buffaloes,  retarding  his  progress,  until  he 
is  overtaken  by  the  dense  column  of  smoke  that  is  swept  before  the  fire — 
alarming  the  horse,  which  stops  and  stands  terrified  and  immutable,  till  the 
burning  grass  which  is  wafted  in  the  wind,  falls  about  him,  kindling  up  in  a 
moment  a  thousand  new  fires,  which  are  instantly  wrapped  in  the  swelling 
flood  of  smoke  that  is  moving  on  like  a  black  thunder-cloud,  rolling  on  the 

earth,  with  its  lightning's  glare,  and  its  thunder  rumbling  as  it  goes.        • 

******* 

When  Ba'tiste,  and  Bogard,  and  I,  and  Patrick  Raymond  (who  like  Bogard 
had  been  a  free  trapper  in  the  Rocky  Mountains),  and  Pah-me-o-ne-qua 
(the  red  thunder),  our  guide  back  from  a  neighbouring  village,  were  jogging 
along  on  the  summit  of  an  elevated  bluff,  overlooking  an  immense  valley 

of  high  grass,  through  which  we  were  about  to  lay  our  course. 

******* 

"  Well,  then,  you  say  you  have  seen  the  prairies  on  fire  ?"     Yes.     "  You 

VOL.    II.  D 


18 

have  seen  the  fire  on  the  mountains,  and  beheld  it  feebly  creeping  over  the 
grassy  hills  of  the  North,  where  the  toad  and  the  timid  snail  were  pacing 
from  its  approach — all  this  you  have  seen,  and  who  has  not  ?  But  who  has 
seen  the  vivid  lightnings,  and  heard  the  roaring  thunder  of  the  rolling  con 
flagration  which  sweeps  over  the  deep-clad  prairies  of  the  West  ?  Who  has 
dashed,  on  his  wild  horse,  through  an  ocean  of  grass,  with  the  raging  tem 
pest  at  his  back,  rolling  over  the  land  its  swelling  waves  of  liquid  fire?" 
What !  "  Aye,  even  so.  Ask  the  red  savage  of  the  wilds  what  is  awful  and 
sublime — Ask  him  where  the  Great  Spirit  has  mixed  up  all  the  elements  of 
death,  and  if  he  does  not  blow  them  over  the  land  in  a  storm  of  fire  ?  Ask 
him  what  foe  he  has  met,  that  regarded  not  his  frightening  yells,  or  his  sinewy 
bow  ?  Ask  these  lords  of  the  land,  who  vauntingly  challenge  the  thunder 
and  lightning  of  Heaven — whether  there  is  not  one  foe  that  travels  over  their 
land,  too  swift  for  their  feet,  and  too  mighty  for  their  strength — at  whose 
approach  their  stout  hearts  sicken,  and  their  strong-armed  courage  withers 
to  nothing?  Ask  him  again  (if  he  is  sullen,  and  his  eyes  set  in  their  sockets) 

— '  Hush  ! sh  !• sh  !' — (he  will  tell  you,  with  a  soul  too  proud 

to  confess — his  head  sunk  on  his  breast,  and  his  hand  over  his  mouth) — 

'  that's  medicine!'  *  *  * 

******* 

I  said  to  my  comrades,  as  we  were  about  to  descend  from  the  towering 
bluffs  into  the  prairie — "  We  will  take  that  buffalo  trail,  where  the  travelling 
herds  have  slashed  down  the  high  grass,  and  making  for  that  blue  point, 
rising,  as  you  can  just  discern,  above  this  ocean  of  grass ;  a  good  day's  work 
will  bring  us  over  this  vast  meadow  before  sunset."  We  entered  the  trail, 
and  slowly  progressed  on  our  way,  being  obliged  to  follow  the  winding  paths 
of  the  buffaloes,  for  the  grass  was  higher  than  the  backs  of  our  horses. 
Soon  after  we  entered,  my  Indian  guide  dismounted  slowly  from  his  horse, 
and  lying  prostrate  on  the  ground,  with  his  face  in  the  dirt,  he  cried,  and 
was  talking  to  the  Spirits  of  the  brave — "  For,"  said  he,  "  over  this  beautiful 
plain  dwells  the  Spirit  of  fire  !  he  rides  in  yonder  cloud — his  face  blackens 
with  rage  at  the  sound  of  the  trampling  hoofs — the  fire-bow  is  in  his  hand — 
he  draws  it  across  the  path  of  the  Indian,  and  quicker  than  lightning,  a 
thousand  flames  rise  to  destroy  him  ;  such  is  the  talk  of  my  fathers,  and 
the  ground  is  whitened  with  their  bones.  It  was  here,"  said  he,  "  that  the 
brave  son  of  Wah-chee-ton,  and  the  strong-armed  warriors  of  his  band,  just 
twelve  moons  since,  licked  the  fire  from  the  blazing  wand  of  that  great 
magician.  Their  pointed  spears  were  drawn  upon  the  backs  of  the  trea 
cherous  Sioux,  whose  swifter-flying  horses  led  them,  in  vain,  to  the  midst  of 
this  valley  of  death.  A  circular  cloud  sprang  up  from  the  prairie  around 
them  !  it  was  raised,  and  their  doom  was  fixed  by  the  Spirit  of  fire!  It  was 
on  this  vast  plain  of  fire-grass  that  waves  over  our  heads,  that  the  swift 
foot  of  Mah-to-ga  was  laid.  It  is  here,  also,  that  the  fleet-bounding  wild 
horse  mingles  his  bones  with  the  red  man ;  and  the  eagle's  wing  is  melted 


li 


128 


, 
"  f/  .  vc- .,»-•- -^ 


\ 
f 


" 


127 


19 

as  he  darts  over  its  surface.     Friends  !  it  is  the  season  of  fire ;  and  I  fear, 
from  the  smell  of  the  wind,  that  the  Spirit  is  awake  ! " 

Pah-me-o-ne-qua  said  no  more,  but  mounted  his  wild  horse,  and  waving 
his  hand,  his  red  shoulders  were  seen  rapidly  vanishing  as  he  glided  through 
the  thick  mazes  of  waving  grass.  We  were  on  his  trail,  and  busily  traced 
him  until  the  midday-sun  had  brought  us  to  the  ground,  with  our  refresh 
ments  spread  before  us.  He  partook  of  them  not,  but  stood  like  a  statue, 
while  his  black  eyes,  in  sullen  silence,  swept  the  horizon  round ;  and  then, 
with  a  deep-drawn  sigh,  he  gracefully  sunk  to  the  earth,  and  laid  with  his 
face  to  the  ground.  Our  buffalo  tongues  and  pemican,  and  marrow-fat, 
were  spread  before  us  ;  and  we  were  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  these  dainties 
of  the  Western  world,  when,  quicker  than  the  frightened  elk,  our  Indian 
friend  sprang  upon  his  feet !  His  eyes  skimmed  again  slowly  over  the 
prairies'  surface,  and  he  laid  himself  as  before  on  the  ground. 

"  Red  Thunder  seems  sullen  to-day,"  said  Bogard — "  he  startles  at 
every  rush  of  the  wind,  and  scowls  at  the  whole  world  that  is  about  him." 

"  There's  a  rare  chap  for  you — a  fellow  who  would  shake  his  fist  at 
Heaven,  when  he  is  at  home  ;  and  here,  in  a  grass-patch,  must  make  his 
Jirc-medicine  for  a  circumstance  that  he  could  easily  leave  at  a  shake  of 
his  horse's  heels."  .  . 

"  Not  sae  sure  o'  that,  my  hooney,  though  we'll  not  be  making  too  lightly 
of  the  matter,  nor  either  be  frightened  at  the  mon's  strange  octions.  But, 
Bogard,  I'll  tell  ye  in  a  'ord  (and  thot's  enough),  there's  something  more 
than  odds  in  all  this  '  medicine'  If  this  mon's  a  fool,  he  was  born  out  of 
his  own  country,  that's  all — and  if  the  divil  iver  gits  him,  he  must  take  him 
cowld,  for  he  is  too  swift  and  too  wide-awake  to  be  taken  alive — you  under- 
stond  thot,  I  suppouse  ?  But,  to  come  to  the  plain  matter — supposin  that 
the  Fire  Spirit  (and  I  go  for  somewhat  of  witchcraft),  I  say  supposin  that 
this  Fire  Spirit  should  jist  impty  his  pipe  on  tother  side  of  this  prairie,  and 
strike  up  a  bit  of  a  blaze  in  this  high  grass,  and  send  it  packing  across  in 
this  direction,  before  sich  a  death  of  a  wind  as  this  is  !  By  the  bull  barley, 
I'll  bet  you'd  be  after  '  making  medicine,'  and  taking  a  bit  of  it,  too,  to  get 
rid  of  the  racket." 

"  Yes,  but  you  see,  Patrick " 

"  Neever  mind  thot  (not  wishin  to  distarb  you)  ;  and  suppouse  the  blowin 
wind  was  coming  fast  ahead,  jist  blowin  about  our  ears  a  warld  of  smoke 
and  chokin  us  to  dith,  and  we  were  dancin  about  a  Varginny  reel  among 
these  little  paths,  where  the  divil  would  we  be  by  the  time  we  got  to  that  bluff, 
for  it's  now  fool  of  a  distance?  Givin  you  time  to  spake,  I  would  say  a  word 
more  (askin  your  pardon),  I  know  by  the  expression  of  your  face,  mon,  you 
neever  have  seen  the  world  on  fire  yet,  and  therefore  you  know  nothin  at  all 
of  a  hurly  burly  of  this  kind — did  ye  ? — did  ye  iver  see  (and  I  jist  want  to 
know),  did  ye  iver  see  the  fire  in  high-grass,  runnin  with  a  strong  wind, 
about  five  mile  and  the  half,  and  thin  hear  it  strike  into  a  slash  of  dry  cane 

D  2 


20 

brake  !  !  I  would  jist  ax  you  that  ?  By  thuneder  you  niver  have — for  your 
eyes  would  jist  stick  out  of  your  head  at  the  thought  of  it !  Did  ye  iver 
look  way  into  the  backside  of  Mr.  Maelzel's  Moscow,  and  see  the  flashin 
flames  a  runnin  up ;  and  then  hear  the  poppin  of  the  militia  Jire  jist  after 
wards?  then  you  have  jist  a  touch  of  it !  ye're  jist  beginnin — ye  may  talk 
about  fires — but  this  is  sich  a  baste  of  a  fire!  Ask  Jack  Sanford,  he's  a 
chop  that  can  tall  you  all  aboot  it.  Not  wishin  to  distarb  you,  I  would  say 
a  word  more — and  that  is  this — If  I  were  advisin,  I  would  say  that  we  are 
gettin  too  far  into  this  imbustible  meadow ;  for  the  grass  is  dry,  and  the 
wind  is  too  strong  to  make  a  light  matter  of,  at  this  sason  of  the  year ; 
an  now  I'll  jist  tell  ye  how  M'Kenzie  and  I  were  sarved  in  this  very  place 
about  two  years  ago ;  and  he's  a  worldly  chop,  and  niver  aslape,  my  word 
for  that hollo,  what's  that!" 

Red  Thunder  was  on  his  feet ! — his  long  arm  was  stretched  over  the 
grass,  and  his  blazing  eye-balls  starting  from  their  sockets  !  "  White  man 
(said  he),  see  ye  that  small  cloud  lifting  itself  from  the  prairie?  he  rises  ! 
the  hoofs  of  our  horses  have  waked  him  !  The  Fire  Spirit  is  awake — this 
wind  is  from  his  nostrils,  and  his  face  is  this  way  ! "  No  more — but  his 
swift  horse  darted  under  him,  and  he  gracefully  slid  over  the  waving  grass 
as  it  was  bent  by  the  wind.  Our  viands  were  .left,  and  we  were  swift  on  his 
trail.  The  extraordinary  leaps  of  his  wild  horse,  occasionally  raised  his  red 
shoulders  to  view,  and  he  sank  again  in  the  waving  billows  of  grass.  The 
tremulous  wind  was  hurrying  by  us  fast,  and  on  it  was  borne  the  agitated 
wing  of  the  soaring  eagle.  His  neck  was  stretched  for  the  towering  bluff, 
and  the  thrilling  screams  of  his  voice  told  the  secret  that  was  behind  him. 
Our  horses  were  swift,  and  we  struggled  hard,  yet  hope  was  feeble,  for  the 
bluff  was  yet  blue,  and  nature  nearly  exhausted  !  The  sunshine  was  dying, 
and  a  cool  shadow  advancing  over  the  plain.  Not  daring  to  look  back, 
we  strained  every  nerve.  The  roar  of  a  distant  cataract  seemed  gradually 
advancing  on  us — the  winds  increased,  the  howling  tempest  was  madden 
ing  behind  us — and  the  swift-winged  beetle  and  heath  hens,  instinctively 
drew  their  straight  lines  over  our  heads.  The  fleet-bounding  antelope 
passed  us  also ;  and  the  still  swifter  long-legged  hare,  who  leaves  but  a 
shadow  as  he  flies !  Here  was  no  time  for  thought — but  I  recollect  the 
heavens  were  overcast — the  distant  thunder  was  heard — the  lightning's  glare 
was  reddening  the  scene — and  the  smell  that  came  on  the  winds  struck 
terror  to  my  soul !  *  *  *  *  The  piercing  yell 

of  my  savage  guide  at  this  moment  came  back  upon  the  winds — his  robe 
was  seen  waving  in  the  air,  and  his  foaming  horse  leaping  up  the  towering 
bluff! 

Our  breath  and  our  sinews,  in  this  last  struggle  for  life,  were  just  enough 
to  bring  us  to  its  summit.  We  had  risen  from  a  sea  of  fire  !  "Great  God  ! 
(I  exclaimed)  how  sublime  to  gaze  into  that  valley,  where  the  elements  of 
nature  are  so  strangely  convulsed  !  "  Ask  not  the  poet  or  painter  how  it 


21 

looked,  for  they  can  tell  you  not ;  but  ask  the  naked  savage,  and  watch  the 
electric  twinge  of  his  manly  nerves  and  muscles,  as  he  pronounces  the 

lengthened  "  hush sh ''  his  hand  on  his  mouth,  and  his  glaring 

eye-balls  looking  you  to  the  very  soul ! 

I  beheld  beneath  me  an  immense  cloud  of  black  smoke,  which  extended 
from  one  extremity  of  this  vast  plain  to  the  other,  and  seemed  majestically 
to  roll  over  its  surface  in  a  bed  of  liquid  fire  ;  and  above  this  mighty  deso 
lation,  as  it  rolled  along,  the  whitened  smoke,  pale  with  terror,  was  stream 
ing  and  rising  up  in  magnificent  cliffs  to  heaven  ! 

I  stood  secure,  but  tremblingly,  and  heard  the  maddening  wind,  which 
hurled  this  monster  o'er  the  land — I  heard  the  roaring  thunder,  and  saw  its 
thousand  lightnings  flash  ;  and  then  I  saw  behind,  the  black  and  smoking 
desolation  of  this  storm  of  fire  ! 

• 


22 


LETTER— No.  34. 


FORT  LEA  YEN  WORTH,  LOWER  MISSOURI. 

SiNCEwriting  the  last  epistle, some  considerable  time  has  elapsed,  which  has, 
nevertheless,  been  filled  up  and  used  to  advantage,  as  I  have  been  moving  about 
and  using  my  brush  amongst  different  tribes  in  this  vicinity.  The  Indians  that 
maybe  said  to  belong  to  this  vicinity,  and  who  constantly  visit  this  post,  are  the 
loways — Konzas — Pawnees — OmahaS* — Ottoes,  and  Missouries  (primitive), 
and  Delawares — Kickapoos — Potawatomies — Weahs — Peorias — Shawanos, 
Kaskaskias  (semi-civilized  remnants  of  tribes  that  have  been  removed  to 
this  neighbourhood  by  the  Government,  within  the  few  years  past).  These 
latter-named  tribes  are,  to  a  considerable  degree,  agriculturalists  ;  getting 
their  living  principally  by  ploughing,  and  raising  corn,  and  cattle  and  horses. 
They  have  been  left  on  the  frontier,  surrounded  by  civilized  neighbours, 
where  they  have  at  length  been  induced  to  sell  out  their  lands,  or  exchange 
them  for  a  much  larger  tract  of  wild  lands  in  these  regions,  which  the 
Government  has  purchased  from  the  wilder  tribes. 

Of  the  first  named,  the  loways  may  be  said  to  be  the  farthest  departed 
from  primitive  modes,  as  they  are  depending  chiefly  on  their  corn-fields  for 
subsistence ;  thoiigh  their  appearance,  both  in  their  dwellings  and  personal 
looks,  dress,  modes,  &c.,  is  that  of  the  primitive  Indian. 

The  loways  are  a  small  tribe,  of  about  fourteen  hundred  persons,  living  in 
a  snug  little  village  within  a  few  miles  of  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Missouri 
River,  a  few  miles  above  this  place. 

The  present  chief  of  this  tribe  is  Notch-ee-ning-a  (the  white  cloud,  PLATE 
129),  the  son  of  a  very  distinguished  chief  of  the  same  name,  who  died  re 
cently,  after  gaining  the  love  of  his  tribe,  and  the  respect  of  all  the  civilized 
world  who  knew  him.  If  my  time  and  space  will  admit  it,  and  I  should  not 
forget  it,  I  shall  take  another  occasion  to  detail  some  of  the  famous  trans 
actions  of  his  signal  life. 

The  son  of  White  Cloud,  who  is  now  chief,  and  whose  portrait  I  have  just 
named,  was  tastefully  dressed  with  a  buffalo  robe,  wrapped  around  him,  with 
a  necklace  of  grizzly  bear's  claws  on  his  neck  ;  with  shield,  bow,  and 
quiver  on,  and  a  profusion  of  wampum  strings  on  his  neck. 

Wy-ee-yogh  (the  man  of  sense,  PLATE  130),  is  another  of  this  tribe,  much 
distinguished  for  his  brarery  and  early  warlike  achievements.  His  head  was 
dressed  with  a  broad  silver  band  passing  around  it,  and  decked  out  with  the 
crest  of  horsehair. 


129 


130 


G.  CaMtn. 


131 


132 


Myers  (k  C.'sc. 


23 

Pah-ta-coo-che  (the  shooting  cedar,  PLATE  131),  and  Was-com-fnun 
(the  busy  man,  PLATE  132),  are  also  distinguished  warriors  of  the  tribe; 
tastefully  dressed  and  equipped,  the  one  with  his  war-club  on  his  arm,  the 
other  with  bow  and  arrows  in  his  hand  ;  both  wore  around  their  waists 
beautiful  buffalo  robes,  and  both  had  turbans  made  of  vari-coloured  cotton 
shawls,  purchased  of  the  Fur  Traders.  Around  their  necks  were  necklaces 
of  the  bears'  claws,  and  a  profusion  of  beads  and  wampum.  Their  ears  were 
profusely  strung  with  beads  ;  and  their  naked  shoulders  curiously  streaked 
and  daubed  with  red  paint. 

Others  of  this  tribe  will  be  found  amongst  the  paintings  in  my  Indian 
Museum  ;  and  more  of  them  and  their  customs  given  at  a  future  time. 

The  Konzas,  of  1560  souls,  reside  at  the  distance  of  sixty  or  eighty  miles 
from  this  place,  on  the  Konzas  River,  fifty  miles  above  its  union  with  the 
Missouri,  from  the  West. 

This  tribe  has  undoubtedly  sprung  from  the  Osages,  as  their  personal 
appearance,  language  and  traditions  clearly  prove.  They  are  living  adjoin 
ing  to  the  Osages  at  this  time,  and  although  a  kindred  people,  have  some 
times  deadly  warfare  with  them.  The  present  chief  of  this  tribe  is  known 
by  the  name  of  the  "  White  Plume;"  a  very  urbane  and  hospitable  man,  of 
good  portly  size,  speaking  some  English,  and  making  himself  good  company 
for  all  white  persons  who  travel  througli  his  country  and  have  the  good 
luck  to  shake  his  liberal  and  hospitable  hand. 

It  has  been  to  me  a  source  of  much  regret,  that  I  did  not  get  the  portrait 
of  this  celebrated  chief;  but  I  have  painted  several  others  distinguished  in 
the  tribe,  which  are  fair  specimens  of  these  people.  Sho-me-cos-se  (the 
wolf,  PLATE  1 33),  a  chief  of  some  distinction,  with  a  bold  and  manly  outline 
of  head  ;  exhibiting,  like  most  of  this  tribe,  an  European  outline  of  features, 
signally  worthy  the  notice  of  the  enquiring  world.  The  head  of  this  chief 
was  most  curiously  ornamented,  and  his  neck  bore  a  profusion  of  wampum 
strings. 

Meach-o-shin-gaw  (the  little  white  bear,  PLATE  134).  Chesh-oo-hong-ha 
(the  man  of  good  sense,  PLATE  135),  and  Wa-hon-ga-shee  (no  fool,  PLATE 
136),  are  portraits  of  distinguished  Konzas,  and  all  furnish  striking  instances 
of  the  bold  and  Roman  outline  that  I  have  just  spoken  of. 

The  custom  of  shaving  the  head,  and  ornamenting  it  with  the  crest  of 
deer's  hair,  belongs  to  this  tribe ;  and  also  to  the  Osages,  the  Pawnees, 
the  Sacs,  and  Foxes,  and  loways,  and  to  no  other  tribe  that  I  know  of ; 
unless  it  be  in  some  few  instances,  where  individuals  have  introduced  it  into 
their  tribes,  merely  by  way  of  imitation. 

With  these  tribes,  the  custom  is  one  uniformly  adhered  to  by  every  man 
in  the  nation  ;  excepting  some  few  instances  along  the  frontier,  where  efforts 
are  made  to  imitate  white  men,  by  allowing  the  hair  to  grow  out. 

In  PLATE  135,  is  a  fair  exhibition  of  this  very  curious  custom — the  hair 
being  cut  as  close  to  the  head  as  possible,  except  a  tuft  the  size  of  the  palm 


24 

of  the  hand,  on  the  crown  of  the  head,  which  is  left  of  two  inches  in  length  ; 
and  in  the  centre  of  which  is  fastened  a  beautiful  crest  made  of  the  hair  of 
the  deer's  tail  (dyed  red)  and  horsehair,  and  oftentimes  surmounted  with 
the  war-eagle's  quill.  In  the  centre  of  the  patch  of  hair,  which  I  said  was 
left  of  a  couple  of  inches  in  length,  is  preserved  a  small  lock,  which  is  never 
cut,  but  cultivated  to  the  greatest  length  possible,  and  uniformly  kept 
in  braid,  and  passed  through  a  piece  of  curiously  carved  bone  ;  which  lies  in 
the  centre  of  the  crest,  and,  spreads  it  out  to  its  uniform  shape,  which  they 
study  with  great  care  to  preserve.  Through  this  little  braid,  and  outside  of 
the  bone,  passes  a  small  wooden  or  bone  key,  which  holds  the  crest  to  the 
head.  This  little  braid  is  called  in  these  tribes,  the  "  scalp-lock"  and  is 
scrupulously  preserved  in  this  way,  and  offered  to  their  enemy  if  they  can 
get  it,  as  a  trophy  ;  which  it  seems  in  all  tribes  they  are  anxious  to  yield  to 
their  conquerors,  in  case  they  are  killed  in  battle ;  and  which  it  would  be 
considered  cowardly  and  disgraceful  for  a  warrior  to  shave  off,  leaving 
nothing  for  his  enemy  to  grasp  for,  when  he  falls  into  his  hands  in  the  events 
of  battle. 

Amongst  those  tribes  who  thus  shave  and  ornament  their  heads,  the  crest 
is  uniformly  blood-red  ;  and  the  upper  part  of  the  head,  and  generally  a  con 
siderable  part  of  the  face,  as  red  as  they  can  possibly  make  it  with  vermilion. 
I  found  these  people  cutting  off  the  hair  with  small  scissors,  which  they  pur 
chase  of  the  Fur  Traders ;  and  they  told  me  that  previous  to  getting  scissors, 
they  cut  it  away  with  their  knives ;  and  before  they  got  knives,  they  were  in 
the  habit  of  burning  it  off  with  red  hot  stones,  which  was  a  very  slow 
and  painful  operation. 

With  the  exception  of  these  few,  all  the  other  tribes  in  North  America 
cultivate  the  hair  to  the  greatest  length  they  possibly  can  ;  preserving  it  to 
flow  over  their  shoulders  and  backs  in  great  profusion,  and  quite  unwilling 
to  spare  the  smallest  lock  of  it  for  any  consideration. 

The  Pawnees  are  a  very  powerful  and  warlike  nation,  living  on  the  river 
Platte,  about  one  hundred  miles  from  its  junction  with  the  Missouri ;  laying 
claim  to,  and  exercising  sway  over,  the  whole  country,  from  its  mouth  to  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  present  number  of  this  tribe  is  ten  or  twelve  thousand ;  about  one 
half  the  number  they  had  in  1832,  when  that  most  appalling  disease,  the 
small-pox,  was  accidentally  introduced  amongst  them  by  the  Fur  Traders, 
and  whiskey  sellers  ;  when  ten  thousand  (or  more)  of  them  perished  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months. 

The  Omahas,  of  fifteen  hundred  ;  the  Ottoes  of  six  hundred  ;  and  Mis- 
souries  of  four  hundred,  who  are  now  living  under  the  protection  and 
surveillance  of  the  Pawnees,  and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  them,  were  all 
powerful  tribes,  but  so  reduced  by  this  frightful  disease,  and  at  the  same 
time,  that  they  were  unable  longer  to  stand  against  so  formidable  enemies  as 
they  had  around  them,  in  the  Sioux,  Pawnees,  Sacs,  and  Foxes,  and  at  last 


133 


134 


135 


136 


25 

last  merged  into  the  Pawnee  tribe,  under  whose  wing  and  protection  they 
now  live. 

The  period  of  this  awful  calamity  in  these  regions,  was  one  that  will  be 
long  felt,  and  long  preserved  in  the  traditions  of  these  people.  The  great 
tribe  of  the  Sioux,  of  whom  I  have  heretofore  spoken,  suffered  severely  with 
the  same  disease ;  as  well  as  the  Osages  and  Konzas  ;  and  particularly  the 
unfortunate  Puncahs,  who  were  almost  extinguished  by  it. 

The  destructive  ravages  of  this  most  fatal  disease  amongst  these  poor 
people,  who  know  of  no  specific  for  it,  is  beyond  the  knowledge,  and  almost 
beyond  the  belief,  of  the  civilized  world.  Terror  and  dismay  are  carried  with 
it ;  and  awful  despair,  in  the  midst  of  which  they  plunge  into  the  river, 
when  in  the  highest  state  of  fever,  and  die  in  a  moment;  or  dash  themselves 
from  precipices ;  or  plunge  their  knives  to  their  hearts,  to  rid  themselves 
from  the  pangs  of  slow  and  disgusting  death. 

Amongst  the  formidable  tribe  of  Pawnees,  the  Fur  Traders  are  yet  doing 
some  business  ;  but,  from  what  I  can  learn,  the  Indians  are  dealing  with 
some  considerable  distrust,  with  a  people  who  introduced  so  fatal  a  calamity 
amongst  them,  to  which  one  half  of  their  tribe  have  fallen  victims.  The 
Traders  made  their  richest  harvest  amongst  these  people,  before  this  disease 
broke  out ;  and  since  it  subsided,  quite  a  number  of  their  lives  have  paid 
the  forfeit,  according  to  the  Indian  laws  of  retribution.* 

The  Pawnees  have  ever  been  looked  upon,  as  a  very  warlike  and  hostile 
tribe  ;  and  unusually  so,  since  the  calamity  which  I  have  mentioned. 

Major  Dougherty,  of  whom  I  have  heretofore  spoken,  has  been  for  several 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  had  the  very  great  pleasure  of  reading  the  notes 
of  the  Honourable  Charles  A.  Murray,  (who  was  for  several  months  a  guest  amongst  the 
Pawnees),  and  also  of  being  several  times  a  fellow-traveller  with  him  in  America  ;  and  at 
last  a  debtor  to  him  for  his  signal  kindness  and  friendship  in  London.  Mr.  Murray's 
account  of  the  Pawnees,  as  far  as  he  saw  them,  is  without  doubt  drawn  with  great  fidelity, 
and  he  makes  them  out  a  pretty  bad  set  of  fellows.  As  I  have  before  mentioned,  there 
is  probably  not  another  tribe  on  the  Continent,  that  has  been  more  abused  and  incensed 
by  the  system  of  trade,  and  money-making,  than  the  Pawnees  ;  and  the  Honourable 
Mr.  Murray,  with  his  companion,  made  his  way  boldly  into  the  heart  of  their  country, 
without  guide  or  interpreter,  and  I  consider  at  great  hazard  to  his  life  :  and,  from  all  the 
circumstances,  I  have  been  ready  to  congratulate  him  on  getting  out  of  their  country  as 
well  as  he  did. 

I  mentioned  in  a  former  page,  the  awful  destruction  of  this  tribe  by  the  small-pox ;  a 
few  years  previous  to  which,  some  one  of  the  Fur  Traders  visited  a  threat  upon  these 
people,  that  if  they  did  not  comply  with  some  condition,  "  he  would  let  the  small-pox  out 
of  a  bottle  and  destroy  the  whole  of  them."  The  pestilence  has  since  been  introduced 
accidentally  amongst  them  by  the  Traders  ;  and  the  standing  tradition  of  the  tribe  now  is 
that  "  the  Traders  opened  a  bottle  and  let  it  out  to  destroy  them."  Under  such  cir 
cumstances,  from  amongst  a  people  who  Lave  been  impoverished  by  the  system  of  trade 
without  any  body  to  protect  him,  I  cannot  but  congratulate  my  Honourable  friend  for 
his  peaceable  retreat,  where  others  before  him  have  been  less  fortunate  ;  and  regret 
at  the  same  time,  that  he  could  not  have  been  my  companion  to  some  others  of  the 
remote  tribes. 

VOL.     II.  T. 


26 

years  their  agent ;  and  by  his  unremitted  endeavours,  with  an  unequalled 
familiarity  with  the  Indian  character,  and  unyielding  integrity  of  purpose, 
has  successfully  restored  and  established,  a  system  of  good  feeling  and 
respect  between  them  and  the  "  pale  faces,"  upon  whom  they  looked, 
naturally  and  experimentally,  as  their  destructive  enemies. 

Of  this  stern  and  uncompromising  friend  of  the  red  man,  and  of  justice, 
who  has  taken  them  close  to  his  heart,  and  familiarized  himself  with  their 
faults  and  their  griefs,  I  take  great  pleasure  in  recording  here  for  the  perusal 
of  the  world,  the  following  extract  from  one  of  his  true  and  independent 
Reports,  to  the  Secretary  at  War ;  which  sheds  honour  on  his  name,  and 
deserves  a  more  public  place  than  the  mere  official  archives  of  a  Government 
record. 

"  In  comparing  this  Report  with  those  of  the  years  preceding,  you  will 
find  there  has  been  little  improvement  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  either  in 
literary  acquirements  or  in  agricultural  knowledge. 

"  It  is  my  decided  opinion,  that,  so  long  as  the  Fur  Traders  and  trappers 
are  permitted  to  reside  among  the  Indians,  all  the  efforts  of  the  Government 
to  better  their  condition  will  be  fruitless  ;  or,  in  a  great  measure  checked  by 
the  strong  influence  of  those  men  over  the  various  tribes. 

"  Every  exertion  of  the  agents,  (and  other  persons,  intended  to  carry  into 
effect  the  views  of  the  Government,  and  humane  societies,)  are  in  such 
direct  opposition  to  the  Trader  and  his  interest,  that  the  agent  finds  himself 
continually  contending  with,  and  placed  in  direct  and  immediate  contrariety 
of  interest  to  the  Fur  Traders  or  grossly  neglecting  his  duty  by  overlooking 
acts  of  impropriety  ;  and  it  is  a  curious  and  melancholy  fact,  that  while  the 
General  Government  is  using  every  means  and  expense  to  promote  the 
advancement  of  those  aboriginal  people,  it  is  at  the  same  time  suffering  the 
Traders  to  oppose  and  defeat  the  very  objects  of  its  intentions.  So  long  as 
the  Traders  and  trappers  are  permitted  in  the  Indian  country,  the  introduc 
tion  of  spirituous  liquors  will  be  inevitable,  under  any  penalty  the  law  may 
require ;  and  until  its  prohibition  is  certain  and  effectual,  every  effort  of 
Government,  through  the  most  faithful  and  indefatigable  agents,  will  be  use 
less.  It  would  be,  in  my  humble  opinion,  better  to  give  up  every  thing  to 
the  Traders,  and  let  them  have  the  sole  and  entire  control  of  the  Indians, 
than  permit  them  to  contend  at  every  point,  with  the  views  of  the  Govern 
ment  ;  and  that  contention  made  manifest,  even  to  the  most  ignorant  Indian. 

"  While  the  agent  is  advising  the  Indians  to  give  up  the  chase  and  settle 
themselves,  with  a  view  to  agricultural  pursuits,  the  Traders  are  urging  them 
on  in  search  of  skins. 

"  Far  be  it  from  me  to  be  influenced  or  guided  by  improper  or  personal 
feeling,  in  the  execution  of  my  duty ;  but,  Sir,  I  submit  my  opinion  to  a 
candid  world,  in  relation  to  the  subject,  and  feel  fully  convinced  you  will  be 
able  to  see  at  once  the  course  which  will  ever  place  the  Indian  Trader,  and 
the  present  policy  of  Government,  in  relation  to  the  Indians,  at  eternal  war. 


~ 
— 


27 

"  The  missionaries  sent  amongst  the  several  tribes  are,  no  doubt,  sincere 
in  their  intentions.  I  believe  them  to  be  so,  from  what  I  have  seen ;  but, 
unfortunately,  they  commence  their  labours  where  they  should  end  them. 
They  should  teach  the  Indians  to  work,  by  establishing  schools  of  that 
description  among  them  ;  induce  them  to  live  at  home,  abandon  their  rest 
less  and  unsettled  life,  and  live  independent  of  the  chase.  After  they  are 
taught  this,  their  intellectual  faculties  would  be  more  susceptible  of  improve 
ment  of  a  moral  and  religious  nature  ;  and  their  steps  towards  civilization 
would  become  less  difficult." 

The  Pawnees  are  divided  into  four  bands,  or  families — designated  by  the 
names  of  Grand  Pawnees — Tappage  Pawnees — Republican  Pawnees,  and 
Wolf  Pawnees. 

Each  of  these  bands  has  a  chief  at  its  head  ;  which  chiefs,  with  all  the 
nation,  acknowledge  a  superior  chief  at  whose  voice  they  all  move. 

At  the  head  of  the  Grand  Pawnees,  is  Shon-ka-ki-he-ga  (the  horse  chief, 
PLATE  138) ;  and  by  the  side  of  him,  Haw-che-ke-sug-ga  (he  who  kills  the 
Osages,  PLATE  139),  the  aged  chief  of  the  Missouries,  of  whom  I  have  spoken, 
and  shall  yet  say  more. 

La-doo-ke-a  (the  buffalo  bull,  PLATE  140),  with  his  medicine  or  totem 
(the  head  of  a  buffalo)  painted  on  his  breast  and  his  face,  with  bow  and 
arrows  in  his  hands,  is  a  warrior  of  great  distinction  in  the  same  band. 

Le-shaw-loo-lah-le-hoo  (the  big  elk,  PLATE  141),  chief  of  the  Wolf  Paw 
nees,  is  another  of  the  most  distinguished  of  this  tribe. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  I  have  also  painted  of  this  tribe,  for  my  Museum, 
Ah-shaw-wah-rooks-te  (the  medicine  horse)  ;  La-kee-too-wi-ra-sha  (the  little 
chief) ;  Loo-ra-we-re-coo  (the  bird  that  goes  to  war) ;  Ah-sha-la-coots-a  (mole 
in  the  forehead) ;  La-shaw-le-staw-hix  (the  man  chief) ;  Te-ah-ke-ra-le-re- 
coo  (the  Chayenne)  ;  Lo-loch-to-hoo-la  (the  big  chief) ;  La-wah-ee-coots-la- 
shaw-no  (the  brave  chief)  ;  and  L'har-e-tar-rushe  (the  ill-natured  man). 

The  Pawnees  live  in  four  villages,  some  few  miles  apart,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Platte  river,  having  their  allies  the  Omahas  and  Ottoes  so  near  to  them  as 
easily  to  act  in  concert,  in  case  of  invasion  from  any  other  tribe  ;  and  from 
the  fact  that  half  or  more  of  them  are  supplied  with  guns  and  ammunition, 
they  are  able  to  withstand  the  assaults  of  any  tribe  that  may  come  upon  them. 

Of  the  Ottoes,  No-way-ke-sug-ga  (he  who  strikes  two  at  once,  PLATE  143) ; 
and  Raw-no-way-woh-krah  (the  loose  pipe-stem,  PLATE  144),  I  have  painted 
at  full  length,  in  beautiful  costumes — the  first  with  a  necklace  of  grizzly 
bear's  claws,  and  his  dress  profusely  fringed  with  scalp-locks ;  the  second, 
in  a  tunic  made  of  the  entire  skin  of  a  grizzly  bear,  with  a  head-dress  of 
the  war-eagle's  quills. 

Besides  these,  I  painted,  also,  Wah-ro-nee-sah  (the  surrounder) ;  Non- 
je-ning-a  (no  heart) ;  and  We-ke-ru-law  (he  who  exchanges). 

Of  the  Omahas,  Ki-ho-ga-waw-shu-shee  (the  brave  chief,  PLATE  145),  is 
the  head  chief;  and  next  to  him  in  standing  and  reputation,  is  Om-pa-ton-ga 

E2 


28 

(the  big  elk,  PLATE  146),  with  his  tomahawk  in  his  hand,  and  his  face 
painted  black,  for  war. 

Besides  these,  I  painted  Man-sha-qui-ta  (the  little  soldier),  a  brave ; 
Shaw-da-mon-nee  (there  he  goes) ;  and  Nom-ba-mon-nee  (the  double  walker). 

Of  these  wild  tribes  I  have  much  more  in  store  to  say  in  future,  and  shall 
certainly  make  another  budget  of  Letters  from  this  place,  or  from  other 
regions  from  whence  I  may  wish  to  write,  and  possibly,  lack  material !  All 
of  these  tribes,  as  well  as  the  numerous  semi-civilized  remnants  of  tribes,  that 
have  been  thrown  out  from  the  borders  of  our  settlements,  have  missionary 
establishments  and  schools,  as  well  as  agricultural  efforts  amongst  them  ; 
and  will  furnish  valuable  evidence  as  to  the  success  that  those  philanthropic 
and  benevolent  exertions  have  met  with,  contending  (as  thay  have  had  to  do) 
with  the  contaminating  influences  of  whiskey-sellers,  and  other  mercenary 
men,  catering  for  their  purses  and  their  unholy  appetites. 


29 


LETTER— No.  35. 


ST.  LOUIS,  MISSOURI. 

MY  little  bark  has  been  soaked  in  the  water  again,  and  Ba'tiste  and 
Bogard  have  paddled,  and  I  have  steered  and  dodged  our  little  craft  amongst 
the  snags  and  sawyers,  until  at  last  we  landed  the  humble  little  thing 
amongst  the  huge  steamers  and  floating  palaces  at  the  wharf  of  this  bustling 
and  growing  city. 

And  first  of  all,  I  must  relate  the  fate  of  my  little  boat,  which  had  borne 
us  safe  over  two  thousand  miles  of  the  Missouri's  turbid  and  boiling  current, 
with  no  fault,  excepting  two  or  three  instances,  when  the  waves  became 
too  saucy,  she,  like  the  best  of  boats  of  her  size,  went  to  the  bottom,  and  left 
us  soused,  to  paddle  our  way  to  the  shore,  and  drag  out  our  things  and  dry 
them  in  the  sun.  • 

When  we  landed  at  the  wharf,  my  luggage  was  all  taken  out,  and  removed 
to  my  hotel ;  and  when  I  returned  a  few  hours  afterwards,  to  look  for  my 
little  boat,  to  which  I  had  contracted  a  peculiar  attachment  (although  I  had 
left  it  in  special  charge  of  a  person  at  work  on  the  wharf) ;  some  mystery  or 
medicine  operation  had  relieved  me  from  any  further  anxiety  or  trouble 
about  it — it  had  gone  and  never  returned,  although  it  had  safely  passed  the 
countries  of  mysteries,  and  had  often  laid  weeks  and  months  at  the  villages 
of  red  men,  with  no  laws  to  guard  it ;  and  where  it  had  also  often  been 
taken  out  of  the  water  by  mystery-men,  and  carried  up  the  bank,  and  turned 
against  my  wigwam  ;  and  by  them  again  safely  carried  to  the  river's  edge, 
and  put  afloat  upon  the  water,  when  1  was  ready  to  take  a  seat  in  it. 

St.  Louis,  which  is  1400  miles  west  of  New  York,  is  a  flourishing  town, 
of  15,000  inhabitants,  and  destined  to  be  the  great  emporium  of  the  West — 
the  greatest  inland  town  in  America.  Its  location  is  on  the  Western  bank 
of  the  Mississippi  river,  twenty  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  and 
1400  above  the  entrance  of  the  Mississippi  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

This  is  the  great  depot  of  all  the  Fur  Trading  Companies  to  the  Upper 
Missouri  and  Rocky  Mountains,  and  their  starting-place ;  and  also  for  the 
Santa  Fe,  and  other  Trading  Companies,  who  reach  the  Mexican  borders 
overland,  to  trade  for  silver  bullion,  from  the  extensive  mines  of  that  rich 
country. 

I  have  also  made  it  my  starting-point,  and  place  of  deposit,  to  which  I 


send  from  different  quarters,  my  packages  of  paintings  and  Indian  articles, 
minerals,  fossils,  &c.,  as  I  collect  them  in  various  regions,  here  to  be  stored 
till  my  return  ;  and  where  on  my  last  return,  if  I  ever  make  it,  I  shall 
hustle  them  altogether,  and  remove  them  to  the  East. 

To  this  place  I  had  transmitted  by  steamer  and  other  conveyance,  about 
twenty  boxes  and  packages  at  different  times,  as  my  note-book  shewed  ; 
and  I  have,  on  looking  them  up  and  enumerating  them,  been  lucky  enough 
to  recover  and  recognize  about  fifteen  of  the  twenty,  wliich  is  a  pretty  fair 
proportion  for  this  wild  and  desperate  country,  and  the  very  conscientious 
hands  they  often  are  doomed  to  pass  through. 

Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  (poor  fellows)  I  found,  after  remaining  here  a  few 
days,  had  been  about  as  unceremoniously  snatched  off,  as  my  little  canoe  ; 
and  Bogard,  in  particular,  as  he  had  made  show  of  a  few  hundred  dollars, 
which  he  had  saved  of  his  hard  earnings  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

He  came  down  with  a  liberal  heart,  which  he  had  learned  in  an  Indian 
life  of  ten  years,  with  a  strong  taste,  which  he  had  acquired,  for  whiskey, 
in  a  country  where  it  was  sold  for  twenty  dollars  per  gallon  ;  and  with  an 
independent  feeling,  which  illy  harmonized  with  rules  and  regulations  of  a 
country  of  laws  ;  and  the  consequence  soon  was,  that  by  the  "  Hawk  and 
Buzzard"  system,  and  Rocky  Mountain  liberality,  and  Rocky  Mountain 
prodigality,  the  poor  fellow  was  soon  "jugged  up;"  where  he  could  deli 
berately  dream  of  beavers,  and  the  free  and  cooling  breezes  of  the  mountain 
air,  without  the  pleasure  of  setting  his  trap  for  the  one,  or  even  indulging 
the  hope  of  ever  again  having  the  pleasure  of  breathing  the  other. 

I  had  imbibed  rather  less  of  these  delightful  passions  in  the  Indian  coun 
try,  and  consequently  indulged  less  in  them  when  I  came  back ;  and  of 
course,  was  rather  more  fortunate  than  poor  Bogard,  whose  feelings  I 
soothed  as  far  as  it  laid  in  my  power,  and  prepared  to  "  lay  my  course" 
to  the  South,  with  colours  and  canvass  in  readiness  for  another  campaign. 

In  my  sojourn  in  St.  Louis,  amongst  many  other  kind  and  congenial 
friends  whom  I  met,  I  have  had  daily  interviews  with  the  venerable  Gover 
nor  Clark,  whose  whitened  locks  are  still  shaken  in  roars  of  laughter,  and 
good  jests  among  the  numerous  citizens,  who  all  love  him,  and  continually 
rally  around  him  in  his  hospitable  mansion. 

Governor  Clark,  with  Captain  Lewis,  were  the  first  explorers  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  down  the  Colombia  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  thirty-two 
years  ago  ;  whose  tour  has  been  published  in  a  very  interesting  work,  which 
has  long  been  before  the  world.  My  works  and  my  design  have  been 
warmly  approved  and  applauded  by  this  excellent  patriarch  of  the  Western 
World ;  and  kindly  recommended  by  him  in  such  ways  as  have  been  of 
great  service  to  me.  Governor  Clark  is  now  Superintendant  of  Indian 
Affairs  for.  all  the  Western  and  North  Western  regions  ;  and  surely,  their 
interests  could  never  have  been  intrusted  to  better  or  abler  hands.* 

*  Some  year  or  two  after  writing  the  above,  I  saw  the  announcement  of  the  death  of  this 


31 

So  long  have  I  been  recruiting,  and  enjoying  the  society  of  friends  in  this 
town,  that  the  navigation  of  the  river  has  suddenly  closed,  being  entirely 
frozen  over  ;  and  the  earth's  surface  covered  with  eighteen  inches  of  drifting 
snow,  which  has  driven  me  to  the  only  means,  and  I  start  in  a  day  or  two, 
with  a  tough  little  pony  and  a  packhorse,  to  trudge  through  the  snow  drifts 
from  this  to  New  Madrid,  and  perhaps  further  ;  a  distance  of  three  or  four 
hundred  miles  to  the  South — where  I  must  venture  to  meet  a  warmer 
climate — the  river  open,  and  steamers  running,  to  waft  me  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Of  the  fate  or  success  that  waits  me,  or  of  the  incidents  of  that 
travel,  as  they  have  not  transpired,  I  can  as  yet  say  nothing ;  and  I  close 
my  book  for  further  time  and  future  entries. 

veteran,  whose  life  has  been  one  of  faithful  service  to  his  country,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
of  strictest  fidelity  as  the  guardian  and  friend  of  the  red  men. 


32 


LETTER— No.  36. 


PENSACOLA,  WEST  FLORIDA. 

FROM  my  long  silence  of  late,  you  will  no  doubt  have  deemed  me  out  of 
the  civil  and  perhaps  out  of  the  whole  world. 

I  have,  to  be  sure,  been  a  great  deal  of  the  time  out  of  the  limits  of  one 
and,  at  times,  nearly  out  of  the  other.  Yet  I  am  living,  and  hold  in  my 
possession  a  number  of  epistles  which  passing  events  had  dictated,  but  which 
I  neglected  to  transmit  at  the  proper  season.  In  my  headlong  transit 
through  the  Southern  tribes  of  Indians,  I  have  "popped  out"  of  the  woods 
upon  this  glowing  land,  and  I  cannot  forego  the  pleasure  of  letting  you  into 
a  few  of  the  secrets  of  this  delightful  place. 

"  Flos — -floris"  &c.  every  body  knows  the  meaning  of;  and  Florida,  in 
Spanish,  is  a  country  of  flowers. — Perdido  is  perdition,  and  Rio  Perdido, 
River  of  Perdition.  Looking  down  its  perpendicular  banks  into  its  black 
water,  its  depth  would  seem  to  be  endless,  and  the  doom  of  the  unwary  to 
be  gloomy  in  the  extreme.  Step  not  accidentally  or  wilfully  over  its  fatal 
brink,  and  Nature's  opposite  extreme  is  spread  about  you.  You  are  literally 
in  the  land  of  the  "  cypress  and  myrtle" — where  the  ever-green  live  oak  and 
lofty  magnolia  dress  the  forest  in  a  perpetual  mantle  of  green. 

The  sudden  transition  from  the  ice-bound  regions  of  the  North  to  this 
mild  climate,  in  the  midst  of  winter,  is  one  of  peculiar  pleasure.  At  a  half 
way  of  the  distance,  one's  cloak  is  thrown  aside ;  and  arrived  on  the  ever- 
verdant  borders  of  Florida,  the  bosom  is  opened  and  bared  to  the  soft  breeze 
from  the  ocean's  wave,  and  the  congenial  warmth  of  a  summer's  sun. 

Such  is  the  face  of  Nature  here  in  the  rude  month  of  February  ;  green 
peas  are  served  on  the  table — other  garden  vegetables  in  great  perfection, 
and  garden  flowers,  as  well  as  wild,  giving  their  full  and  sweetest  perfume  to 
the  winds. 

I  looked  into  the  deep  and  bottomless  Perdido,  and  beheld  about  it  the 
thousand  charms  which  Nature  has  spread  to  allure  the  unwary  traveller  to  its 
brink.  'Twas  not  enough  to  entangle  him  in  a  web  of  sweets  upon  its  bor 
ders,  but  Natiire  seems  to  have  used  an  art  to  draw  him  to  its  bottom,  by  the 
voluptuous  buds  which  blossom  under  its  black  waters,  and  whose  vivid 
colours  are  softened  and  enriched  the  deeper  they  are  seen  below  its  surface. 
The  sweetest  of  wild  flowers  enamel  the  shores  and  spangle  the  dark  green 


33 

tapestry  which  hangs  over  its  bosom — the  stately  magnolia  towers  fear 
lessly  over  its  black  waters,  and  sheds  (with  the  myrtle  and  jessamine)  the 
richest  perfume  over  this  chilling  pool  of  death. 

How  exquisitely  pure  and  sweet  are  the  delicate  tendrils  which  Nature 
has  hung  over  these  scenes  of  melancholy  and  gloom !  and  how  strong, 
also,  has  she  fixed  in  man's  breast  the  passion  to  possess  and  enjoy  them  ! 
I  could  have  hung  by  the  tree  tops  over  that  fatal  stream,  or  blindly 
staggered  over  its  thorny  brink  to  have  culled  the  sweets  which  are  found 
only  in  its  bosom  ;  but  the  poisonous  fang,  I  was  told,  was  continually 
aimed  at  my  heel,  and  I  left  the  sweetened  atmosphere  of  its  dark  and 
gloomy,  yet  enamelled  shores. 

Florida  is,  in  a  great  degree,  a  dark  and  sterile  wilderness,  yet  with  spots 
of  beauty  and  of  loveliness,  with  charms  that  cannot  be  forgotten.  Her 
swamps  and  everglades,  the  dens  of  alligators,  and  lurking  places  of  the 
desperate  savage,  gloom  the  thoughts  of  the  wary  traveller,  whose  mind  is 
cheered  and  lit  to  admiration,  when  in  the  solitary  pine  woods,  where  he 
hears  nought  but  the  echoing  notes  of  the  sand-hill  cranes,  or  the  howling 
wolf,  he  suddenly  breaks  out  into  the  open  savannahs,  teeming  with  their 
myriads  of  wild  flowers,  and  palmettos  (PLATE  147)  ;  or  where  the  winding 
path  through  which  he  is  wending  his  lonely  way,  suddenly  brings  him 
out  upon  the  beach,  where  the  rolling  sea  has  thrown  up  her  thousands  of  hills 
and  mounds  of  sand  as  white  as  the  drifted  snow,  over  which  her  green  waves 
are  lashing,  and  sliding  back  again  to  her  deep  green  and  agitated  bosom 
(PLATE  148).  This  sketch  was  made  on  Santa  Rosa  Island,  within  a  few 
miles  of  Pensacola,  of  a  favourite  spot  for  tea  (and  other  convivial)  parties, 
which  are  often  held  there.  The  hills  of  sand  are  as  purely  white  as  snow,  and 
fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  height,  and  supporting  on  their  tops,  and  in  their  sides, 
clusters  of  magnolia  bushes — of  myrtle — of  palmetto  and  heather,  all  of 
which  are  evergreens,  forming  the  most  vivid  contrast  with  the  snow-white 
sand  in  which  they  are  growing.  On  the  beach  a  family  of  Seminole  Indians 
are  encamped,  catching  and  drying  red  fish,  their  chief  article  of  food. 

I  have  traversed  the  snow-white  shores  of  Pensacola's  beautiful  bay, 
and  I  said  to  myself,  "Is  it  possible  that  Nature  has  done  so  much  in 
vain — or  will  the  wisdom  of  man  lead  him  to  add  to  such  works  the  em 
bellishments  of  art,  and  thus  convert  to  his  own  use  and  enjoyment  the 
greatest  luxuries  of  life?"  As  a  travelling  stranger  through  the  place,  I 
said  "  yes :  it  must  be  so."  Nature  has  here  formed  the  finest  harbour 
in  the  world ;  and  the  dashing  waves  of  the  ocean  have  thrown  around 
its  shores  the  purest  barriers  of  sand,  as  white  as  the  drifted  snow.  Unlike 
all  other  Southern  ports,  it  is  surrounded  by  living  fountains  of  the  purest 
water,  and  its  shores  continually  fanned  by  the  refreshing  breathings  of  the 
sea.  To  a  Northern  man,  the  winters  in  this  place  appear  like  a  continual 
spring  time  ;  and  the  intensity  of  a  summer's  sun  is  cooled  into  comfort  and 
luxury  by  the  ever-cheering  sea  breeze. 

VOL.  ii.  p 


34 

This  is  the  only  place  I  have  found  in  the  Southern  country  to  which 
Northern  people  can  repair  with  safety  in  the  summer  season;  and  I 
know  not  of  a  place  in  the  world  where  they  can  go  with  better  guarantees 
of  good  health,  and  a  reasonable  share  of  the  luxuries  of  life.  The  town  of 
Pensacola  is  beautifully  situated  on  the  shore  of  the  bay,  and  contains  at 
present  about  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  most  of  them  Spanish  Creoles. 
They  live  an  easy  and  idle  life,  without  any  energy  further  than  for  the  mere 
means  of  living.  The  bay  abounds  in  the  greatest  variety  of  fish,  which 
are  easily  taken,  and  the  finest  quality  of  oysters  are  found  in  profusion, 
even  alongside  of  the  wharves. 

Government  having  fixed  upon  this  harbour  as  the  great  naval  depot  for 
all  the  Southern  coast,  the  consequence  will  be,  that  a  vast  sum  of  public 
money  will  always  be  put  into  circulation  in  this  place  ;  and  the  officers  of 
the  navy,  together  with  the  officers  of  the  army,  stationed  in  the  three  forts 
built  and  now  building  at  this  place,  will  constitute  the  most  polished  and 
desirable  society  in  our  country. 

What  Pensacola  has  been  or  is,  in  a  commercial  point  of  view,  little  can 
be  said  ;  but  what  it  can  be,  and  most  certainly  will  be,  in  a  few  years,  the 
most  sanguine  can  hardly  predict.  I  would  unhesitatingly  recommend  this 
to  the  enterprising  capitalists  of  the  North,  as  a  place  where  they  can 
live,  and  where  (if  nature  has  been  kind,  as  experience  has  taught  us) 
they  will  flourish.  A  few  such  men  have  taken  their  stand  here  within  a 
few  months  past ;  and,  as  a  first  step  towards  their  aggrandizement,  a  plan 
of  a  rail-road  has  been  projected,  from  Pensacola  to  Columbus,  in  Georgia  ; 
which  needs  only  to  be  completed,  to  place  Pensacola  at  once  before  any 
other  town  on  the  Southern  coast,  excepting  New  Orleans.  Of  the  feasi 
bility  of  such  a  work,  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt;  and,  from  the  opinions 
advanced  by  Captain  Chase  and  Lieutenant  Bowman,  two  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  engineers  of  the  arrny,  it  would  seem  as  if  Nature  had  formed  a 
level  nearly  the  whole  way,  and  supplied  the  best  kind  of  timber  on  the  spot 
for  its  erection.  The  route  of  this  rail-road  would  be  through  or  near  the 
principal  cotton-growing  part  of  Alabama,  and  the  quantity  of  produce  from 
that  state,  as  well  as  from  a  great  part  of  the  state  of  Georgia,  which  would 
seek  this  market,  would  be  almost  incalculable.  Had  this  road  been  in  ope 
ration  during  the  past  winter,  it  has  been  ascertained  by  a  simple  calculation, 
that  the  cotton -growers  of  Alabama,  might  have  saved  2,000,000  of  dollars 
on  their  crop  ;  by  being  enabled  to  have  got  it  early  into  market,  and  received 
the  first  price  of  18|  cents,  instead  of  waiting  six  weeks  or  two  months  for 
a  rise  of  water,  enabling  them  to  get  it  to  Mobile — at  which  time  it  had 
fallen  to  nine  cents  per  pound. 

As  a  work  also  of  national  utility,  it  would  rank  amongst  the  most 
important  in  our  country,  and  the  Government  might  afford  to  appropriate 
the  whole  sum  necessary  for  its  construction.  In  a  period  of  war,  when 
in  all  probability,  for  a  great  part  of  the  time,  this  port  may  be  in  a 


*> ,'-' 


_>  *r^C^  _  s 

-.^J-TJ-         -         -i_- 

----_- 


•     " 
•  i 


it    [PP™  f    !      :    : 

"I 

i  \,j..  •  ''    ''•        '        '  .jl 

'  _l  ' 

. 

*^  I 


I  I 


• 


/ 


14-H 


35 

state  of  blockade,  such  a  communication  with  the  interior  of  the  country, 
would  be  of  incalculable  benefit  for  the  transportation  of  men — of  produce 
and  munitions  of  war. 

Of  the  few  remnants  of  Indians  remaining  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
I  have  little  to  say,  at  present,  that  could  interest  you.  The  sum  total 
that  can  be  learned  or  seen  of  them  (like  all  others  that  are  half  civilized) 
is,  that  they  are  to  be  pitied. 

The  direful  "  trump  of  war"  is  blowing  in  East  Florida,  where  I  was 
"  steering  my  course ;"  and  I  shall  in  a  few  days  turn  my  steps  in  a 
different  direction. 

Since  you  last  heard  from  me,  I  have  added  on  to  my  former  Tour  "  down 
the  river,"  the  remainder  of  the  Mississippi  (or  rather  Missouri),  from 
St.  Louis  to  New  Orleans ;  and  I  find  that,  from  its  source  to  the  Balize, 
the  distance  is  4500  miles  only !  I  shall  be  on  the  wing  again  in  a  few  days, 
for  a  shake  of  the  hand  with  the  Camanchees,  Osages,  Pawnees,  Kioways, 
Arapahoes,  &c. — some  hints  of  whom  I  shall  certainly  give  you  from  their 
different  localities,  provided  I  can  keep  the  hair  on  my  head. 

This  Tour  will  lead  me  up  the  Arkansas  to  its  source,  and  into  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  under  the  protection  of  the  United  States  dragoons.  You  will 
begin  to  think  ere  long,  that  I  shall  acquaint  myself  pretty  well  with  the 
manners  and  customs  of  our  country — at  least  with  the  out-land-ish  part 
of  it. 

I  shall  hail  the  day  with  pleasure,  when  I  can  again  reach  the  free  land  of 
the  lawless  savage  ;  for  far  more  agreeable  to  my  ear  is  the  Indian  yell  and 
war-whoop,  than  the  civilized  groans  and  murmurs  about  "  pressure"  ft  de- 
posites,"  "  banks,"  "  boundary  questions,"  &c. ;  and  I  vanish  from  the 
country  with  the  sincere  hope  that  these  tedious  words  may  become  obsolete 
before  I  return.  Adieu. 


36 


LETTER— No.  37. 

FORT  GIBSON,  ARKANSAS  TERRITORY 

SINCE  the  date  of  my  last  Letter  at  Pensacola,  in  Florida,  I  travelled  to 
New  Orleans,  and  from  thence  up  the  Mississippi  several  hundred  miles,  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas ;  and  up  the  Arkansas,  700  miles  to  this  place. 
We  wended  our  way  up,  between  the  pictured  shores  of  this  beautiful  river, 
on  the  steamer  "  Arkansas,"  until  within  200  miles  of  this  post ;  when  we 
got  aground,  and  the  water  falling  fast,  left  the  steamer  nearly  on  dry  ground. 
Hunting  and  fishing,  and  whist,  and  sleeping,  and  eating,  were  our  principal 
amusements  to  deceive  away  the  time,  whilst  we  were  waiting  for  the  water 
to  rise.  Lieutenant  Seaton,  of  the  army,  was  one  of  my  companions  in 
misery,  whilst  we  lay  two  weeks  or  more  without  prospect  of  further  progress 
— the  poor  fellow  on  his  way  to  his  post  to  join  his  regiment,  had  left  his 
trunk,  unfortunately,  with  all  his  clothes  in  it ;  and  by  hunting  and  fishing 
in  shirts  that  I  loaned  him,  or  from  other  causes,  we  became  yoked  in 
amusements,  in  catering  for  our  table — in  getting  fish  and  wild  fowl ;  and, 
after  that,  as  the  "  last  kick"  for  amusement  and  pastime,  with  another  good 
companion  by  the  name  of  Chadwick,  we  clambered  up  and  over  the  rugged 
mountains'  sides,  from  day  to  day,  turning  stones  to  catch  centipedes  and 
tarantulas,  of  which  poisonous  reptiles  we  caged  a  number  ;  and  on  the  boat 
amused  ourselves  by  betting  on  their  battles,  which  were  immediately  fought, 
and  life  almost  instantly  taken,  when  they  came  together.* 

In  this,  and  fifty  other  ways,  we  whiled  away  the  heavy  time  :  but  yet,  at 
last  we  reached  our  destined  goal,  and  here  we  are  at  present  fixed.  Fort 
Gibson  is  the  extreme  south-western  outpost  on  the  United  States  frontier  ; 
beautifully  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  in  the  midst  of  an  extensive 
and  lovely  prairie  ;  and  is  at  present  occupied  by  the  7th  regiment  of  United 
States  infantry,  heretofore  under  the  command  of  General  Arbuckle,  one  of 
the  oldest  officers  on  the  frontier,  and  the  original  builder  of  the  post. 

Being  soon  to  leave  this  little  civilized  world  for  a  campaign  in  the  Indian 
country,  I  take  this  opportunity  to  bequeath  a  few  words  before  the  moment 
of  departure.  Having  sometime  since  obtained  permission  from  the  Secre- 

*  Several  years  after  writing  the  above,  I  was  shocked  at  the  announcement  of  the 
death  of  this  amiable  and  honourable  young  man,  Lieutenant  Seaton,  who  fell  a  victim  to 
the  deadly  disease  of  that  country ;  severing  another  of  the  many  fibres  of  my  heart, 
which  peculiar  circumstances  in  these  wild  regions,  had  woven,  but  to  be  broken. 


37 

tary  of  War  to  accompany  the  regiment  of  the  United  States  dragoons  in  their 
summer  campaign,  I  reported  myself  at  this  place  two  months  ago,  where  I 
have  been  waiting  ever  since  for  their  organization. — After  the  many  difficul 
ties  which  they  have  had  to  encounter,  they  have  at  length  all  assembled — the 
grassy  plains  are  resounding  with  the  trampling  hoofs  of  the  prancing  war- 
horse — and  already  the  hills  are  echoing  back  the  notes  of  the  spirit-stirring 
trumpets,  which  are  sounding  for  the  onset.     The  natives  are  again  "to  be 
astonished,"  and  I  shall  probably  again  be  a  witness  to  the  scene.     But 
whether  the   approach  of  eight  hundred  mounted  dragoons   amongst  the 
Camanchees  and  Pawnees,  will  afford  me  a  better  subject  for  a  picture  of  a 
gaping  and  astounded  multitude,  than  did  the  first  approach  of  our  steam 
boat  amongst  the  Mandans,  &c.,  is  a  question  yet  to  be  solved.  I  am  strongly 
inclined  to  think  that  the  scene  will  not  be  less  wild  and  spirited,  and  I 
ardently  wish  it ;  for  I  have  become  so  much  Indian  of  late,  that  my  pencil 
has  lost  all  appetite  for  subjects  that  savour  of  tameness.     I  should  delight 
in  seeing  these  red  knights  of  the  lance  astonished,  for  it  is  then  that  they 
shew  their  brightest  hues — and  I  care  not  how  badly  we  frighten  them,  pro 
vided  we  hurt  them  not,  nor  frighten  them  out  of  sketching  distance.     You 
will  agree  with  me,  that  1  am  going  farther  to  get  sitters,  than  any  of  my 
fellow- artists  ever  did  ;  but  I  take  an  indescribable  pleasure  in  roaming 
through  Nature's  trackless  wilds,  and  selecting  my  models,  where  I  am  free 
and  unshackled  by  the  killing  restraints  of  society ;  where  a  painter  must 
modestly  sit  and  breathe  away  in  agony  the  edge  and  soul  of  his  inspiration, 
waiting  for  the  sluggish  calls  of  the  civil.     Though  the  toil,  the  privations, 
and  expense  of  travelling  to  these  remote  parts  of  the  world  to  get  subjects 
for  my  pencil,  place  almost  insurmountable,  and  sometimes  painful  obstacles 
before  me,  yet  I  am  encouraged  by  the  continual  conviction  that  I  am 
practising  in  the  true  School  of  the  Arts ;  and  that,  though  I  should  get  as 
poor  as  Lazarus,  I  should  deem  myself  rich  in  models  and  studies  for  the 
future  occupation  of  my  life.     Of  this  much  I  am  certain — that  amongst 
these  sons  of  the  forest,  where  are  continually  repeated  the  feats  and  gambols 
equal  to  the  Grecian  Games,  I  have  learned  more  of  the  essential  parts  of 
my  art  in  the  three  last  years,  than  I  could  have  learned  in  New  York  in  a 
life-time. 

The  landscape  scenes  of  these  wild  and  beautiful  regions,  are,  of  them 
selves,  a  rich  reward  for  the  traveller  who  can  place  them  in  his  portfolio  : 
and  being  myself  the  only  one  accompanying  the  dragoons  for  scientific 
purposes,  there  will  be  an  additional  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  those  pur 
suits.  The  regiment  of  eight  hundred  men,  with  whom  I  am  to  travel,  will 
be  an  effective  force,  and  a  perfect  protection  against  any  attacks  that  will 
ever  be  made  by  Indians.  It  is  composed  principally  of  young  men  of 
respectable  families,  who  would  act,  on  all  occasions,  from  feelings  of  pride 
and  honour,  in  addition  to  those  of  the  common  soldier. 
The  day  before  yesterday  the  regiment  of  dragoons  and  the  7th  regiment 


38 

of  infantry,  stationed  here,  were  reviewed  by  General  Leavenworth,  who  has 
lately  arrived  at  this  post,  superseding  Colonel  Arbuckle  in  the  command. 

Both  regiments  were  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  in  fatigue  dress,  and  pass 
ing  through  a  number  of  the  manoeuvres  of  battle,  of  charge  and  repulse,  &c., 
presenting  a  novel  and  thrilling  scene  in  the  prairie,  to  the  thousands  of  Indians 
and  others  who  had  assembled  to  witness  the  display.  The  proud  and  manly 
deportment  of  these  young  men  remind  one  forcibly  of  a  regiment  of  Inde 
pendent  Volunteers,  and  the  horses  have  a  most  beautiful  appearance  from 
the  arrangement  of  colours.  Each  company  of  horses  has  been  selected  of 
one  colour  entire.  There  is  a  company  of  bays,  a  company  of  blacks,  one 
of  whites,  one  of  sorrels,  one  of  greys,  one  of  cream  colour,  &c.  &c.,  which 
render  the  companies  distinct,  and  the  effect  exceedingly  pleasing.  This 
regiment  goes  out  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Dodge,  and  from  his  well 
tested  qualifications,  and  from  the  beautiful  equipment  of  the  command, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  they  will  do  credit  to  themselves  and 
an  honour  to  their  country  ;  so  far  as  honours  can  be  gained  and  laurels  can 
be  plucked  from  their  wild  stems  in  a  savage  country.  The  object  of  this 
summer's  campaign  seems  to  be  to  cultivate  an  acquaintance  with  the  Paw 
nees  and  Camanchees.  These  are  two  extensive  tribes  of  roaming  Indians, 
who,  from  their  extreme  ignorance  of  us,  have  not  yet  recognized  the  United 
States  in  treaty,  and  have  struck  frequent  blows  on  our  frontiers  and 
plundered  our  traders  who  are  traversing  their  country.  For  this  I  cannot 
so  much  blame  them,  for  the  Spaniards  are  gradually  advancing  upon  them 
on  one  side,  and  the  Americans  on  the  other,  and  fast  destroying  the  furs 
and  game  of  their  country,  which  God  gave  them  as  their  only  wealth  and 
means  of  subsistence.  This  movement  of  the  dragoons  seems  to  be  one  of 
the  most  humane  in  its  views,  and  I  heartily  hope  that  it  may  prove  so 
in  the  event,  as  well  for  our  own  sakes  as  for  that  of  the  Indian.  I  can  see 
no  reason  why  we  should  march  upon  them  with  an  invading  army  carrying 
with  it  the  spirit  of  chastisement.  The  object  of  Government  undoubtedly  is 
to  effect  a  friendly  meeting  with  them,  that  they  may  see  and  respect  us,  and 
to  establish  something  like  a  system  of  mutual  rights  with  them.  To  penetrate 
their  country  with  the  other  view,  that  of  chastising  them,  even  with  five 
times  the  number  that  are  now  going,  would  be  entirely  futile,  and  perhaps 
disastrous  in  the  extreme.  It  is  a  pretty  thing  (and  perhaps  an  easy  one,  in 
the  estimation  of  the  world)  for  an  army  of  mounted  men  to  be  gaily  pranc 
ing  over  the  boundless  green  fields  of  the  West,  and  it  is  so  for  a  little 
distance — but  it  would  be  well  that  the  world  should  be  apprised  of  some  of 
the  actual  difficulties  that  oppose  themselves  to  the  success  of  such  a  cam 
paign,  that  they  may  not  censure  too  severely,  in  case  this  command  should 
fail  to  accomplish  the  objects  for  which  they  were  organized. 

In  the  first  place,  from  the  great  difficulty  of  organizing  and  equipping, 
these  troops  are  starting  too  late  in  the  season  for  their  summer's  campaign, 
by  two  months.  The  journey  which  they  have  to  perform  is  a  very  long  one, 


39 

and  although  the  first  part  of  it  will  be  picturesque  and  pleasing,  the  after 
part  of  it  will  be  tiresome  and  fatiguing  in  the  extreme.  As  they  advance 
to  the  West,  the  grass  (and  consequently  the  game)  will  be  gradually  dimi 
nishing,  and  water  in  many  parts  of  the  county  not  to  be  found. 

As  the  troops  will  be  obliged  to  subsist  themselves  a  great  part  of  the  way, 
it  will  be  extremely  difficult  to  do  it  under  such  circumstances,  and  at  the 
same  time  hold  themselves  in  readiness,  with  half-famished  horses  and  men 
nearly  exhausted,  to  contend  with  a  numerous  enemy  who  are  at  home,  on 
the  ground  on  which  they  were  born,  with  horses  fresh  and  ready  for  action.  It 
is  not  probable,  however,  that  the  Indians  will  venture  to  take  advantage  of 
such  circumstances  ;  but  I  am  inclined  to  think,  that  the  expedition  will  be 
more  likely  to  fail  from  another  source  :  it  is  my  opinion  that  the  appearance 
of  so  large  a  military  force  in  their  country,  will  alarm  the  Indians  to  that 
degree,  that  they  will  fly  with  their  families  to  their  hiding-places  amongst 
those  barren  deserts,  which  they  themselves  can  reach  only  by  great  fatigue 
and  extreme  privation,  and  to  which  our  half-exhausted  troops  cannot  possi 
bly  follow  them.  From  these  haunts  their  warriors  would  advance  and  annoy 
the  regiment  as  much  as  they  could,  by  striking  at  their  hunting  parties  and 
cutting  off  their  supplies.  To  attempt  to  pursue  them,  if  they  cannot  be 
called  to  a  council,  would  be  as  useless  as  to  follow  the  wind  ;  for  our  troops 
in  such  a  case,  are  in  a  country  where  they  are  obliged  to  subsist  themselves, 
and  the  Indians  being  on  fresh  horses,  with  a  supply  of  provisions,  would 
easily  drive  all  the  buffaloes  ahead  of  them ;  and  endeavour,  as  far  as  pos 
sible,  to  decoy  our  troops  into  the  barren  parts  of  the  country,  where  they 
could  not  find  the  means  of  subsistence. 

The  plan  designed  to  be  pursued,  and  the  only  one  that  can  succeed,  is 
to  send  runners  to  the  different  bands,  explaining  the  friendly  intentions  of 
our  Government,  and  to  invite  them  to  a  meeting.  For  this  purpose  several 
Camanchee  and  Pawnee  prisoners  have  been  purchased  from  the  Osages, 
who  may  be  of  great  service  in  bringing  about  a  friendly  interview. 

I  ardently  hope  that  this  plan  may  succeed,  for  I  am  anticipating  great 
fatigue  and  privation  in  the  endeavour  to  see  these  wild  tribes  together  ;  that 
I  may  be  enabled  to  lay  before  the  world  a  just  estimate  of  their  manners 
and  customs. 

1  hope  that  my  suggestions  may  not  be  truly  prophetic  ;  but  I  am  con 
strained  to  say,  that  I  doubt  very  much  whether  we  shall  see  anything  more 
of  them  than  their  trails,  and  the  sites  of  their  deserted  villages. 

Several  companies  have  already  started  from  this  place  ;  and  the  remain 
ing  ones  will  be  on  their  march  in  a  day  or  two.  General  Leavenworth  will 
accompany  them  200  miles,  to  the  mouth  of  False  Washita,  and  I  shall  be 
attached  to  his  staff.  Incidents  which  may  occur,  I  shall  record.  Adieu. 

NOTE. — In  the  mean  time,  as  it  may  be  long  before  I  can  write  again,  I  send  you  some 
account  of  the  Osages  ;  whom  I  have  been  visiting  and  painting  during  the  two  months 
I  have  been  staying  here. 


40 


LETTER— No.  38. 


FORT  GIBSON,  ARKANSAS. 

NEARLY  two  months  have  elapsed  since  I  arrived  at  this  post,  on  my 
way  up  the  river  from  the  Mississippi,  to  join  the  regiment  of  dragoons  on 
their  campaign  into  the  country  of  the  Camanchees  and  Pawnee  Picts ; 
during  which  time,  I  have  been  industriously  at  work  with  my  brush  and 
my  pen,  recording  the  looks  and  the  deeds  of  the  Osages,  who  inhabit  the 
country  on  the  North  and  the  West  of  this. 

The  Osage,  or  (as  they  call  themselves)  Wa-saw-see,  are  a  tribe  of  about 
5200  in  numbers,  inhabiting  and  hunting  over  the  head-waters  of  the 
Arkansas,  and  Neosho  or  Grand  Rivers.  Their  present  residence  is  about 
700  miles  West  of  the  Mississippi  river ;  in  three  villages,  constituted  of 
wigwams,  built  of  barks  and  flags  or  reeds.  One  of  these  villages  is  within 
forty  miles  of  this  Fort ;  another  within  sixty,  and  the  third  about  eighty 
miles.  Their  chief  place  of  trade  is  with  the  sutlers  at  this  post  ;  and 
there  are  constantly  more  or  less  of  them  encamped  about  the  garrison. 

The  Osages  may  justly  be  said  to  be  the  tallest  race  of  men  in  North 
America,  either  of  red  or  white  skins ;  there  being  very  few  indeed  of  the 
men,  at  their  full  growth,  who  are  less  than  six  feet  in  stature,  and  very 
many  of  them  six  and  a  half,  and  others  seven  feet.  They  are  at  the  same 
time  well-proportioned  in  their  limbs,  and  good  looking  ;  being  rather  nar 
row  in  the  shoulders,  and,  like  most  all  very  tall  people,  a  little  inclined  to 
stoop  ;  not  throwing  the  chest  out,  and  the  head  and  shoulders  back,  quite 
as  much  as  the  Crows  and  Mandans,  and  other  tribes  amongst  which  I  have 
been  familiar.  Their  movement  is  graceful  and  quick  ;  and  in  war  and  the 
chase,  I  think  they  are  equal  to  any  of  the  tribes  about  them. 

This  tribe,  though  living,  as  they  long  have,  near  the  borders  of  the  civi 
lized  community,  have  studiously  rejected  everything  of  civilized  customs  ; 
and  are  uniformly  dressed  in  skins  of  their  own  dressing — strictly  main 
taining  their  primitive  looks  and  manners,  without  the  slightest  appearance 
of  innovations,  excepting  in  the  blankets,  which  have  been  recently  admitted 
to  their  use  instead  of  the  buffalo  robes,  which  are  now  getting  scarce 
amongst  them. 

The  Osages  are  one  of  the  tribes  who  shave  the  head,  as  I  have  before 
described  when  speaking  of  the  Pawnees  and  Konzas,  and  they  decorate 


41 

and  paint  it  with  great  care,  and  some  considerable  taste.  There  is  a  pecu 
liarity  in  the  heads  of  these  people  which  is  very  striking  to  the  eye  of  a 
traveller;  and  which  I  find  is  produced  by  artificial  means  in  infancy. 
Their  children,  like  those  of  all  the  other  tribes,  are  carried  on  a  board,  and 
slung  upon  the  mother's  back.  The  infants  are  lashed  to  the  boards,  with 
their  backs  upon  them,  apparently  in  a  very  uncomfortable  condition  ;  and 
with  the  Osages,  the  head  of  the  child  bound  down  so  tight  to  the  board,  as 
to  force  in  the  occipital  bone,  and  create  an  unnatural  deficiency  on  the 
back  part,  and  consequently  more  than  a  natural  elevation  of  the  top  of  the 
head.  This  custom,  they  told  me  they  practiced,  because  "  it  pressed  out 
a  bold  and  manly  appearance  in  front."  This  I  think,  from  observation,  to 
be  rather  imaginary  than  real ;  as  I  cannot  see  that  they  exhibit  any  extra 
ordinary  development  in  the  front ;  though  they  evidently  shew  a  striking 
deficiency  on  the  back  part,  and  also  an  unnatural  elevation  on  the  top  of 
the  head,  which  is,  no  doubt,  produced  by  this  custom.  The  difference  between 
this  mode  and  the  one  practiced  by  the  Flat-head  Indians  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  consists  in  this,  that  the  Flat-heads  press  the  head  be 
tween  two  boards ;  the  one  pressing  the  frontal  bone  down,,  whilst  the  other 
is  pressing  the  occipital  up,  producing  the  most  frightful  deformity ;  whilst 
the  Osages  merely  press  the  occipital  in,  and  that,  but  to  a  moderate  degree, 
occasioning  but  a  slight,  and  in  many  cases,  almost  immaterial,  departure  from 
the  symmetry  of  nature. 

These  people,  like  all  those  tribes  who  shave  the  head,  cut  and  slit  their 
ears  very  much,  and  suspend  from  them  great  quantities  of  wampum 
and  tinsel  ornaments.  Their  necks  are  generally  ornamented  also  with 
a  profusion  of  wampum  and  beads  ;  and  as  they  live  in  a  warm  climate  where 
there  is  not  so  much  necessity  for  warm  clothing,  as  amongst  the  more 
Northern  tribes,  of  whom  I  have  been  heretofore  speaking ;  their  shoulders, 
arms,  and  chests  are  generally  naked,  and  painted  in  a  great  variety  of 
picturesque  ways,  with  silver  bands  on  the  wrists,  and  oftentimes  a  profusion 
of  rings  on  the  fingers. 

The  head-chief  of  the  Osages  at  this  time,  is  a  young  man  by  the  name 
of  Clermont  (PLATE  150),  the  son  of  a  very  distinguished  chief  of  that  name, 
who  recently  died  ;  leaving  his  son  his  successor,  with  the  consent  of  the 
tribe.  I  painted  the  portrait  of  this  chief  at  full  length,  in  a  beautiful  dress, 
his  leggings  fringed  with  scalp-locks,  and  in  his  hand  his  favourite  and 
valued  war-club. 

By  his  side  I  have  painted  also  at  full  length,  his  wife  and  child  (PLATE 
151).  She  was  richly  dressed  in  costly  cloths  of  civilized  manufacture, 
which  is  almost  a  solitary  instance  amongst  the  Osages,  who  so  studiously 
reject  every  luxury  and  every  custom  of  civilized  people  ;  and  amongst 
those,  the  use  of  whiskey,  which  is  on  all  sides  tendered  to  them — 
but  almost  uniformily  rejected  !  This  is  an  unusual  and  unaccountable 
thing,  unless  the  influence  which  the  missionaries  and  teachers  have  exer- 

VOL.  ii.  o 


42 

cised  over  them,  has  induced  them  to  abandon  the  pernicious  and  destructive 
habit  of  drinking  to  excess.  From  what  I  can  learn,  the  Osages  were  once 
fond  of  whiskey  ;  and,  like  all  other  tribes  who  have  had  the  opportunity, 
were  in  the  habit  of  using  it  to  excess.  Several  very  good  and  exemplary 
men  have  been  for  years  past  exerting  their  greatest  efforts,  with  those  of 
their  families,  amongst  these  people ;  having  established  schools  and  agri 
cultural  experiments  amongst  them.  And  I  am  fully  of  the  opinion,  that 
this  decided  anomaly  in  the  Indian  country,  has  resulted  from  the  devoted 
exertions  of  these  pious  and  good  men. 

Amongst  the  chiefs  of  the  Osages,  and  probably  the  next  in  authority  and 
respect  in  the  tribe,  is  Tchong-tas-sab-bee,  the  black  dog  (PLATE  152), 
whom  I  painted  also  at  full  length,  with  his  pipe  in  one  hand,  and  his  toma 
hawk  in  the  other ;  his  head  shaved,  and  ornamented  with  a  beautiful  crest 
of  deer's  hair,  and  his  body  wrapped  in  a  huge  mackinaw  blanket. 

This  dignitary,  who  is  blind  in  the  left  eye,  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
characters  in  all  this  country,  rendered  so  by  his  huge  size  (standing  in 
height  and  in  girth,  above  all  of  his  tribe),  as  well  as  by  his  extraordinary 
life.  The  Black  Dog  is  familiarly  known  to  all  the  officers  of  the  army,  as 
well  as  to  Traders  and  all  other  white  men,  who  have  traversed  these  regions, 
and  I  believe,  admired  and  respected  by  most  of  them. 

His  height,  I  think,  is  seven  feet ;  and  his  limbs  full  and  rather  fat, 
making  his  bulk  formidable,  and  weighing,  perhaps,  some  250  or  300 
pounds.  This  man  is  chief  of  one  of  the  three  bands  of  the  Osages,  divided 
as  they  are  into  three  families ;  occupying,  as  I  before  said,  three  villages, 
denominated,  "  Clermont's  Village,"  "  Black  Dog's  Village,"  and  "  White 
Hair's  Village."  The  White  Hair  is  another  distinguished  leader  of  the 
Osages ;  and  some  have  awarded  to  him  the  title  of  Head  Chief;  but  in 
the  jealous  feelings  of  rivalry  which  have  long  agitated  this  tribe,  and  some 
times,  even  endangered  its  peace,  I  believe  it  has  been  generally  agreed 
that  his  claims  are  third  in  the  tribe;  though  he  justly  claims  the  title  of  a 
chief,  and  a  very  gallant  and  excellent  man.  The  portrait  of  this  man,  I 
regret  to  say,  I  did  not  get. 

Amongst  the  many  brave  and  distinguished  warriors  of  the  tribe,  one  of 
the  most  noted  and  respected  is  Tal-lee  (PLATE  153),  painted  at  full  length, 
with  his  lance  in  his  hand — his  shield  on  his  arm,  and  his  bow  and  quiver 
slung  upon  his  back. 

In  this  portrait,  there  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  Osage  figure  and  dress,  as 
well  as  of  the  facial  outline,  and  shape  and  character  of  the  head,  and  mode 
of  dressing  and  ornamenting  it  with  the  helmet-crest,  and  the  eagle's 
quill. 

If  I  had  the  time  at  present,  I  would  unfold  to  the  reader  some  of  the 
pleasing  and  extraordinary  incidents  of  this  gallant  fellow's  military  life  ; 
and  also  the  anecdotes  that  have  grown  out  of  the  familiar  life  I  have  led 
with  this  handsome  and  high-minded  gentleman  of  the  wild  woods  and 


152 


153 


43 

prairies.  Of  the  Black  Dog  I  should  say  more  also ;  and  most  assuredly 
will  not  fail  to  do  justice  to  these  extraordinary  men,  when  I  have  leisure  to 
write  off  all  my  notes,  and  turn  biographer.  At  present,  I  shake  hands 
with  these  two  noblemen,  and  bid  them  good-bye ;  promising  them,  that  if 
I  never  get  time  to  say  more  of  their  virtues — I  shall  say  nothing  against 
them. 

In  PLATES  154,  155,  156,  I  have  represented  three  braves,  Ko-ha-tunk-a 
(the  big  crow) ;  Nah-com-e-shee  (the  man  of  the  bed),  and  Mun-ne-pus- 
kee  (he  who  is  not  afraid).  These  portraits  set  forth  fairly  the  modes  of 
dresa^and  ornaments  of  the  young  men  of  the  tribe,  from  the  tops 
of  their  heads  to  the  soles  of  their  feet.  The  only  dress  they  wear  in 
warm  weather  is  the  breech-cloth,  leggings,  and  moccasins  of  dressed  skins, 
and  garters  worn  immediately  below  the  knee,  ornamented  profusely  with 
beads  and  wampum.* 

These  three  distinguished  and  ambitious  young  men,  were  of  the  best 
families  in  the  Osage  nation  ;  and  as  they  explained  to  me,  having  formed 
a  peculiar  attachment  to  each  other — they  desired  me  to  paint  them  all  on 
one  canvass,  in  which  wish  I  indulged  them. 

Besides  the  above  personages,  I  also  painted  the  portraits  of   Wa-ho- 

beck-ee  ( ),  a  brave,  and  said  to  be  the  handsomest  man  in  the  Osage 

nation  ;  Moi-een-e-shee  (the  constant  walker)  ;    Wa-mash-ee-sheek  (he  who 

takes  away)  ;    Wa-chesh-uk  (war)  ;    Mink-chesk  ( )  ;   Wash-im-pe- 

shee  (the  mad  man),  a  distinguished  warrior ;  Shin-ga-wos-sa  (the  hand 
some  bird)  ;  Cah-he-ga-shin-ga  (the  little  chief),  and  Tcha-to-ga  (the  mad 
buffalo)  ;  all  of  which  will  hang  in  my  INDIAN  MUSEUM  for  the  inspection 
of  the  curious.  The  last  mentioned  of  these  was  tried  and  convicted  of  the 
murder  of  two  white  men  during  Adams's  administration,  and  was  afterwards 
pardoned,  and  still  lives,  though  in  disgrace  in  his  tribe,  as  one  whose  life 
had  been  forfeited,  "  but  (as  they  say)  not  worth  taking." 

The  Osages  have  been  formerly,  and  until  quite  recently,  a  powerful  and 
warlike  tribe ;  carrying  their  arms  fearlessly  through  all  of  these  realms ; 
and  ready  to  cope  with  foes  of  any  kind  that  they  were  liable  to  meet.  At 
present,  the  case  is  quite  different ;  they  have  been  repeatedly  moved  and 
jostled  along,  from  the  head  waters  of  the  White  river,  and  even  from  the 
shores  of  the  Mississippi,  to  where  they  now  are  ;  and  reduced  by  every  war 
and  every  move.  The  small-pox  has  taken  its  share  of  them  at  two  or  three 
different  times;  and  the  Konzas,  as  they  are  now  called,  having  been  a 

*  These  three  young  men,  with  eight  or  ten  others,  were  sent  out  by  the  order  of  the 
Black  Dog  and  the  other  chiefs,  with  fhe  regiment  of  dragoons,  as  guides  and  hunters, 
for  the  expedition  to  the  Camanchees,  an  account  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  following 
pages. 

I  was  a  fellow-traveller  and  hunter  with  these  young  men  for  several  months,  and 
therefore  have  related  in  the  following  pages  some  of  the  incidents  of  our  mutual  exploits 
whilst  in  the  Camanchee  country. 

ct  2 


44 

part  of  the  Osages,  and  receded  from  them,  impaired  their  strength  ;  and 
have  at  last  helped  to  lessen  the  number  of  their  warriors ;  so  that  their 
decline  has  been  very  rapid,  bringing  them  to  the  mere  handful  that  now 
exists  of  them  ;  though  still  preserving  their  valour  as  warriors,  which  they 
are  continually  shewing  off  as  bravely  and  as  professionally  as  they  can, 
with  the  Pawnees  and  the  Camanchees,  with  whom  they  are  waging  incessant 
war  ;  although  they  are  the  principal  sufferers  in  those  scenes  which  they 
fearlessly  persist  in,  as  if  they  were  actually  bent  on  their  self-destruction. 
Very  great  efforts  have  been,  and  are  being  made  amongst  these  people  to 
civilize  and  christianize  them  ;  and  still  I  believe  with  but  little  sijfcess. 
Agriculture  they  have  caught  but  little  of ;  and  of  religion  and  civilization 
still  less.  One  good  result  has,  however,  been  produced  by  these  faithful 
labourers,  which  is  the  conversion  of  these  people  to  temperance ;  which  I 
consider  the  first  important  step  towards  the  other  results,  and  which  of 
itself  is  an  achievement  that  redounds  much  to  the  credit  and  humanity  of 
those,  whose  lives  have  been  devoted  to  its  accomplishment. 

Here  I  must  leave  the  Osages  for  the  present,  but  not  the  reader,  whose 
company  I  still  hope  to  have  awhile  longer,  to  hear  how  I  get  along  amongst 
the  wild  and  untried  scenes,  that  I  am  to  start  upon  in  a  few  days,  in 
company  with  the  first  regiment  of  dragoons,  in  the  first  grand  civilized 
foray,  into  the  country  of  the  wild  and  warlike  Camanchees. 


45 


LETTER— No.  39. 


MOUTH  OF  FALSE  WASHITA,  RED  RIVER. 

UNDER  the  protection  of  the  United  States'  dragoons,  I  arrived  at  this 
place  three  days  since,  on  my  way  again  in  search  of  the  "  Far  West." 
How  far  I  may  this  time  follow  the  flying  phantom,  is  uncertain.  I  am 
already  again  in  the  land  of  the  buffaloes  and  the  fleet-bounding  antelopes ; 
and  I  anticipate,  with  many  other  beating  hearts,  rare  sport  and  amuse 
ment  amongst  the  wild  herds  ere  long. 

We  shall  start  from  hence  in  a  few  days,  and  other  epistles  I  may  occa 
sionally  drop  you  from  terra  incognita,  for  such  is  the  great  expanse  of 
country  which  we  expect  to  range  over ;  and  names  we  are  to  give,  and 
country  to  explore,  as  far  as  we  proceed.  We  are,  at  this  place,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Red  River,  having  Texas  under  our  eye  on  the  opposite  bank. 
Our  encampment  is  on  the  point  of  land  between  the  Red  and  False  Washita 
rivers,  at  their  junction ;  and  the  country  about  us  is  a  panorama  too  beau 
tiful  to  be  painted  with  a  pen  :  it  is,  like  most  of  the  country  in  these 
regions,  composed  of  prairie  and  timber,  alternating  in  the  most  delightful 
shapes  and  proportions  that  the  eye  of  a  connoisseur  could  desire.  The 
verdure  is  everywhere  of  the  deepest  green,  and  the  plains  about  us  are 
literally  speckled  with  buffalo.  We  are  distant  from  Fort  Gibson  about 
200  miles,  which  distance  we  accomplished  in  ten  days. 

A  great  part  of  the  way,  the  country  is  prairie,  gracefully  undulating — 
well  watered,  and  continually  beautified  by  copses  and  patches  of  timber. 
On  our  way  my  attention  was  rivetted  to  the  tops  of  some  of  the  prairie 
bluffs,  whose  summits  I  approached  with  inexpressible  delight.  I  rode  to 
the  top  of  one  of  these  noble  mounds,  in  company  with  my  friends  Lieut. 
Wheelock  and  Joseph  Chadwick,  where  we  agreed  that  our  horses  instinc 
tively  looked  and  admired.  They  thought  not  of  the  rich  herbage  that  was 
under  their  feet,  but,  with  deep-drawn  sighs,  their  necks  were  loftily  curved, 
and  their  eyes  widely  stretched  over  the  landscape  that  was  beneath  us. 
From  this  elevated  spot,  the  horizon  was  bounded  all  around  us  by  moun 
tain  streaks  of  blue,  softening  into  azure  as  they  vanished,  and  the  pictured 
vales  that  intermediate  lay,  were  deepening  into  green  as  the  eye  was  re 
turning  from  its  roamings.  Beneath  us,  and  winding  through  the  waving 
landscape  was  seen  with  peculiar  effect,  the  "  bold  dragoons,"  marching  in 
beautiful  order,  forming  a  train  of  a  mile  in  length.  Baggage  waggons  and 


46 

Indians  (engages}  helped  to  lengthen  the  procession.  From  the  point  where 
we  stood,  the  line  was  seen  in  miniature  ;  and  the  undulating  hills  over 
which  it  was  bending  its  way,  gave  it  the  appearance  of  a  huge  black  snake, 
gracefully  gliding  over  a  rich  carpet  of  green. 

This  picturesque  country  of  200  miles,  over  which  we  have  passed,  belongs 
to  the  Creeks  and  Choctaws,  and  affords  one  of  the  richest  and  most  desi 
rable  countries  in  the  world  for  agricultural  pursuits. 

Scarcely  a  day  has  passed,  in  which  we  have  not  crossed  oak  ridges,  of 
several  miles  in  breadth,  with  a  sandy  soil  and  scattering  timber  ;  where 
the  ground  was  almost  literally  covered  with  vines,  producing  the  greatest 
profusion  of  delicious  grapes,  of  five-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 
hanging  in  such  endless  clusters,  as  justly  to  entitle  this  singular  and  solitary 
wilderness  to  the  style  of  a  vineyard  (and  ready  for  the  vintage),  for  many 
miles  together. 

The  next  hour  we  would  be  trailing  through  broad  and  verdant  valleys  of 
green  prairies,  into  which  we  had  descended ;  and  oftentimes  find  our 
progress  completely  arrested  by  hundreds  of  acres  of  small  plum-trees,  of 
four  or  six  feet  in  height ;  so  closely  woven  and  interlocked  together,  as 
entirely  to  dispute  our  progress,  and  sending  us  several  miles  around  ;  when 
every  bush  that  was  in  sight  was  so  loaded  with  the  weight  of  its  delicious 
wild  fruit,  that  they  were  in  many  instances  literally  without  leaves  on  their 
branches,  and  bent  quite  to  the  ground,  Amongst  these,  and  in  patches, 
were  intervening  beds  of  wild  roses,  wild  currants,  and  gooseberries.  And 
underneath  and  about  them,  and  occasionally  interlocked  with  them,  huge 
masses  of  the  prickly  pears,  and  beautiful  and  tempting  wild  flowers  that 
sweetened  the  atmosphere  above  ;  whilst  an  occasional  huge  yellow  rattle 
snake,  or  a  copper-head,  could  be  seen  gliding  over,  or  basking  across  their 
vari-coloured  tendrils  and  leaves. 

On  the  eighth  day  of  our  march  we  met,  for  the  first  time,  a  herd  of 
buffaloes ;  and  being  in  advance  of  the  command,  in  company  with  General 
Leavenworth,  Colonel  Dodge,  and  several  other  officers  ;  we  all  had  an 
opportunity  of  testing  the  mettle  of  our  horses  and  our  own  tact  at  the  wild 
and  spirited  death.  The  inspiration  of  chase  took  at  once,  and  alike,  with 
the  old  and  the  young ;  a  beautiful  plain  lay  before  us,  and  we  all  gave 
spur  for  the  onset.  General  Leavenworth  and  Colonel  Dodge,  with  their 
pistols,  gallantly  and  handsomely  belaboured  a  fat  cow,  and  were  in  together 
at  the  death.  I  was  not  quite  so  fortunate  in  my  selection,  for  the  one 
which  I  saw  fit  to  gallant  over  the  plain  alone,  of  the  same  sex,  younger 
and  coy,  led  me  a  hard  chase,  and  for  a  long  time,  disputed  my  near  ap 
proach  ;  when,  at  length,  the/w/Z  speed  of  my  horse  forced  us  to  close  com 
pany,  and  she  desperately  assaulted  his  shoulders  with  her  horns.  My  gun 
was  aimed,  but  missing  its  fire,  the  muzzle  entangled  in  her  mane,  and  was 
instantly  broke  in  two  in  my  hands,  and  fell  over  my  shoulder.  My  pistols 
were  then  brought  to  bear  upon  her ;  and  though  severely  wounded,  she 


47 

succeeded  in  reaching  the  thicket,  and  left  me  without  "  a  deed  of  chivalry 
to  boast." — Since  that  day,  the  Indian  hunters  in  our  charge  have  supplied 
us  abundantly  with  buffalo  meat ;  and  report  says,  that  the  country  ahead 
of  us  will  afford  us  continual  sport,  and  an  abundant  supply. 

We  are  halting  here  for  a  few  days  to  recruit  horses  and  men,  after  which 
the  line  of  march  will  be  resumed  ;  and  if  the  Pawnees  are  as  near  to  us  as  we 
have  strong  reason  to  believe,  from  their  recent  trails  and  fires,  it  is  probable 
that  within  a  few  days  we  shall  "  thrash"  them  or  "  get  thrashed ;"  unless 
through  their  sagacity  and  fear,  they  elude  our  search  by  flying  before  us 
to  their  hiding-places. 

The  prevailing  policy  amongst  the  officers  seems  to  be,  that  of  flogging 
them  first,  and  then  establishing  a  treaty  of  peace.  If  this  plan  were  morally 
right,  I  do  not  think  it  practicable  ;  for,  as  enemies,  I  do  not  believe  they  will 
stand  to  meet  us  ;  but,  as  friends,  I  think  we  may  bring  them  to  a  talk,  if 
the  proper  means  are  adopted.  We  are  here  encamped  on  the  ground  on 
which  Judge  Martin  and  servant  were  butchered,  and  his  son  kidnapped  by 
the  Pawnees  or  Camanchees,  but  a  few  weeks  since ;  and  the  moment  they 
discover  us  in  a  large  body,  they  will  presume  that  we  are  relentlessly  seek 
ing  for  revenge,  and  they  will  probably  be  very  shy  of  our  approach.  We 
are  over  the  Washita — the  "  Rubicon  is  passed."  We  are  invaders  of  a 
sacred  soil.  We  are  carrying  war  in  our  front, — and  "  we  shall  soon  see, 
what  we  shall  see." 

The  cruel  fate  of  Judge  Martin  and  family  has  been  published  in  the 
papers ;  and  it  belongs  to  the  regiment  of  dragoons  to  demand  the  surrender 
of  the  murderers,  and  get  for  the  information  of  the  world,  some  authentic 
account  of  the  mode  in  which  this  horrid  outrage  was  committed. 

Judge  Martin  was  a  very  respectable  and  independent  man,  living  on  the 
lower  part  of  the  Red  River,  and  in  the  habit  of  taking  his  children  and  a  couple 
of  black  men-servants  with  him,  and  a  tent  to  live  in,  every  summer,  into 
these  wild  regions ;  where  he  pitched  it  upon  the  prairie,  and  spent  several 
months  in  killing  buffaloes  and  other  wild  game,  for  his  own  private  amuse 
ment.  The  news  came  to  Fort  Gibson  but  a  few  weeks  before  we  started,  that 
he  had  been  set  upon  by  a  party  of  Indians  and  destroyed.  A  detachment  of 
troops  was  speedily  sent  to  the  spot,  where  they  found  his  body  horridly 
mangled,  and  also  of  one  of  his  negroes  ;  and  it  is  supposed  that  his  son,  a 
fine  boy  of  nine  years  of  age,  has  been  taken  home  to  their  villages  by  them. 
Where  they  still  retain  him,  and  where  it  is  our  hope  to  recover  him. 

Great  praise  is  due  to  General  Leavenworth  for  his  early  and  unremitted 
efforts  to  facilitate  the  movements  of  the  regiment  of  dragoons,  by  opening 
roads  from  Gibson  and  Towson  to  this  place.  We  found  encamped  two 
companies  of  infantry  from  Fort  Towson,  who  will  follow  in  the  rear  of  the 
dragoons  as  far  as  necessary,  transporting  with  waggons,  stores  and  supplies, 
and  ready,  at  the  same  time,  to  co-operate  with  the  dragoons  in  case  of  ne 
cessity.  General  Leavenworth  will  advance  with  us  from  this  post,  but  how 


48 

far  he  may  proceed  is  uncertain.  We  know  not  exactly  the  route  which  we 
shall  take,  for  circumstances  alone  must  decide  that  point.  We  shall  proba 
bly  reach  Cantonment  Leavenworth  in  the  fall ;  and  one  thing  is  certain  (in 
the  opinion  of  one  who  has  already  seen  something  of  Indian  life  and  country), 
we  shall  meet  with  many  severe  privations  and  reach  that  place  a  jaded  set 
of  fellows,  and  as  ragged  as  Jack  Falstaff's  famous  band. 

You  are  no  doubt  inquiring,  who  are  these  Pawnees,  Camanchees,  and 
Arapahoes,  and  why  not  tell  us  all  about  them  ?  Their  history,  numbers  and 
limits  are  still  in  obscurity  ;  nothing  definite  is  yet  known  of  them,  but  I 
hope  I  shall  soon  be  able  to  give  the  world  a  clue  to  them. 

If  my  life  and  health  are  preserved,  1  anticipate  many  a  pleasing  scene 
for  my  pencil,  as  well  as  incidents  worthy  of  reciting  to  the  world,  which  I 
shall  occasionally  do,  as  opportunity  may  occur. 


LETTER—NO.  40. 


MOUTH  OF  FALSE  WASHITA. 

SINCE  I  wrote  my  last  Letter  from  this  place,  I  have  been  detained  here 
with  the  rest  of  the  cavalcade  from  the  extraordinary  sickness  which  is 
afflicting  the  regiment,  and  actually  threatening  to  arrest  its  progress. 

It  was,  as  I  wrote  the  other  day,  the  expectation  of  the  commanding 
officer  that  we  should  have  been  by  this  time  recruited  and  recovered 
from  sickness,  and  ready  to  start  again  on  our  march ;  but  since  I  wrote, 
nearly  one  half  of  the  command,  and  included  amongst  them,  several 
officers,  with  General  Leavenworth,  have  been  thrown  upon  their  backs, 
with  the  prevailing  epidemic,  a  slow  and  distressing  bilious  fever.  The 
horses  of  the  regiment  are  also  sick,  about  an  equal  proportion,  and  seemingly 
suffering  with  the  same  disease.  They  are  daily  dying,  and  men  are  falling 
sick,  and  General  Leavenworth  has  ordered  Col.  Dodge  to  select  all  the 
men,  and  all  the  horses  that  are  able  to  proceed,  and  be  off  to-morrow 
at  nine  o'clock  upon  the  march  towards  the  Camanchees,  in  hopes  thereby 
to  preserve  the  health  of  the  men,  and  make  the  most  rapid  advance  towards 
the  extreme  point  of  destination. 

General  Leavenworth  has  reserved  Col.  Kearney  to  take  command  of 
the  remaining  troops  and  the  little  encampment ;  and  promises  Colonel 
Dodge  that  he  will  himself  be  well  enough  in  a  few  days  to  proceed  with 
a  party  on  his  trail  and  overtake  him  at  the  Cross  Timbers. 

I  should  here  remark,  that  when  we  started  from  Fort  Gibson,  the 
regiment  of  dragoons,  instead  of  the  eight  hundred  which  it  was  sup 
posed  it  would  contain,  had  only  organized  to  the  amount  of  400  men, 
which  was  the  number  that  started  from  that  place  ;  and  being  at  this 
time  half  disabled,  furnishes  but  200  effective  men  to  penetrate  the  wild 
and  untried  regions  of  the  hostile  Camanchees.  All  has  been  bustle  and 
confusion  this  day,  packing  up  and  preparing  for  the  start  to-morrow 
morning.  My  canvass  and  painting  apparatus  are  prepared  and  ready  for 
the  packhorse,  which  carries  the  goods  and  chattels  of  my  esteemed  com 
panion  Joseph  Chadwick  and  myself,  and  we  shall  be  the  two  only  guests 
of  the  procession,  and  consequently  the  only  two  who  will  be  at  liberty  to 
gallop  about  where  we  please,  despite  military  rules  and  regulations,  chasing 
the  wild  herds,  or  seeking  our  own  amusements  in  any  such  modes  as  we 

VOL.  ir.  H 


50 

choose.  Mr.  Chadwick  is  a  young  man  from  St.  Louis,  with  whom  I  have 
been  long  acquainted,  and  for  whom  1  have  the  highest  esteem.  He  has  so 
far  stood  by  me  as  a  faithful  friend,  and  I  rely  implicitly  on  his  society 
daring  this  campaign  for  much  good  company  and  amusement.  Though  I 
have  an  order  from  the  Secretary  at  War  to  the  commanding  officer,  to  protect 
and  supply  me,  I  shall  ask  bat  for  their  protection  ;  as  I  have,  with  my  friend 
Joe,  laid  in  our  own  supplies  for  the  campaign,  not  potting  the  Govern 
ment  to  any  expense  on  my  account,  in  pursuit  of  my  own  private  objects. 

I  am  writing  this  under  General  Leavenworth's  tent,  where  he  has  gene 
rously  invited  me  to  take  up  my  quarters  during  our  encampment  here,  and  he 
promises  to  send  it  by  his  express,  which  starts  to-morrow  with  amafl  from 
this  to  Fort  Towson  on  the  frontier,  some  hundreds  of  miles  below  this.  At 
the  time  I  am  writing,  the  General  lies  pallid  and  emaciated  before  me,  on  his 
couch,  with  a  dragoon  fanning  him,  whilst  he  breathes  forty  or  fifty  breaths 
a  minute,  and  writhes  under  a  burning  fever,  although  he  is  yet  unwilling 
even  to  admit  that  he  is  sick. 

In  my  last  Letter  I  gave  a  brief  account  of  a  buffalo  chase,  where  General 
Leavenworth  and  Col.  Dodge  took  parts,  and  met  with  pleasing  success. 
The  next  day,  while  on  the  march,  and  a  mile  or  so  in  advance  of  the  regi 
ment,  and  two  days  before  we  reached  this  place,  General  Leavenworth, 
Col.  Dodge,  Lieut.  Wheelock  and  myself  were  jogging  along,  and  all  in  turn 
complaining  of  the  lameness  of  oar  bones,  from  the  chase  on  the  former  day, 
when  the  General,  who  had  long  ago  had  his  surfeit  of  pleasure  of  this  kind 
on  the  Upper  Missouri,  remonstrated  against  further  indulgence,  in  the  follow 
ing  manner :  "  Well,  Colonel,  this  running  for  buffaloes  is  bad  business  for  us 
— we  are  getting  too  old,  and  should  leave  such  amusements  to  the  young 
men  ;  I  have  had  enough  of  this  fun  in  my  life,  and  I  am  determined  not 
to  hazard  my  limbs  or  weary  my  horse  any  more  with  it — it  is  the  height  of 
folly  for  us,  but  will  do  well  enough  for  boys."  Col.  Dodge  assented 
at  once  to  his  resolves,  and  approved  them ;  whilst  I,  who  had  tried  it 
in  every  form  (and  I  had  thought,  to  my  heart's  content),  on  the  Upper  Mis 
souri,  joined  my  assent  to  the  folly  of  our  destroying  our  horses,  which 
had  a  long  journey  to  perform,  and  agreed  that  I  would  join  no  more  in  the 
buffalo  chase,  however  near  and  inviting  they  might  come  to  me. 

In  the  midst  of  this  conversation,  and  these  mutual  declarations  (or  rather 
just  at  the  end  of  them),  as  we  were  jogging  along  in  "  Indian  file"  and 
General  Leavenworth  taking  the  lead,  and  just  rising  to  the  top  of  a  little  hill 
over  which  it  seems  he  had  had  an  instant  peep,  he  dropped  himself  suddenly 
upon  the  side  of  his  horse  and  wheeled  back  !  and  rapidly  informed  us  with  an 
agitated  whisper,  and  an  exceeding  game  contraction  of  the  eye,  that  a  snug 
little  band  of  buffaloes  were  quietly  grazing  just  over  the  knoll  in  a  beautiful 
meadow  for  running,  and  that  if  I  would  take  to  the  left !  and  Lieut.  Whee 
lock  to  the  right !  and  let  him  and  the  Colonel  dash  right  into  the  midst  of 
them !  we  could  play  the  devil  with  them  ! !  one  half  of  this  at  least  was 


51 

said  after  he  had  got  upon  his  feet  and  taken  off  his  portmanteau  and  valise, 
in  which  we  had  all  followed  suit,  and  were  mounting  for  the  start !  and  I 
am  almost  sure  nothing  else  was  said,  and  if  it  had  been  I  should  not  have 
heard  it,  for  I  was  too  far  off!  and  too  rapidly  dashed  over  the  waving 
grass  !  and  too  eagerly  gazing  and  plying  the  whip,  to  hear  or  to  see,  any 
thing  but  the  trampling  hoofs  !  and  the  blackened  throng  !  and  the  darting 
steeds  !  and  the  flashing  of  guns  !  until  I  had  crossed  the  beautiful  lawn  ! 
and  the  limb  of  a  tree,  as  my  horse  was  darting  into  the  timber,  had  crossed 
my  horse's  back,  and  had  scraped  me  into  the  grass,  from  which  I  soon 
raised  my  head  !  and  all  was  silent !  and  all  out  of  sight !  save  the  dragoon 
regiment,  which  I  could  see  in  distance  creeping  along  on  the  top  of  a  high 
hill.  I  found  my  legs  under  me  in  a  few  moments,  and  put  them  in  their 
accustomed  positions,  none  of  which  would  for  some  time,  answer  the  usual 
purpose ;  but  I  at  last  got  them  to  work,  and  brought  "  Charley"  out  of 
the  bushes,  where  he  had  "  brought  up"  in  the  top  of  a  fallen  tree,  with 
out  damage. 

No  buffalo  was  harmed  in  this  furious  assault,  nor  horse  nor  rider.  Col. 
Dodge  and  Lieut.  Wheelock  had  joined  the  regiment,  and  General  Leaven- 
worth  joined  me,  with  too  much  game  expression  yet  in  his  eye  to  allow 
him  more  time  than  to  say,  "  I'll  have  that  calf  before  I  quit !"  and  away  he 
sailed,  "  up  hill  and  down  dale,"  in  pursuit  of  a  fine  calf  that  had  been  hidden 
on  the  ground  during  the  chase,  and  was  now  making  its  way  over  the  prairies 
in  pursuit  of  the  herd.  I  rode  to  the  top  of  a  little  hill  to  witness  the  suc 
cess  of  the  General's  second  effort,  and  after  he  had  come  close  upon  the 
little  affrighted  animal,  it  dodged  about  in  such  a  manner  as  evidently  to 
baffle  his  skill,  and  perplex  his  horse,  which  at  last  fell  in  a  hole,  and  both 
were  instantly  out  of  my  sight.  I  ran  my  horse  with  all  possible  speed  to 
the  spot,  and  found  him  on  his  hands  and  knees,  endeavouring  to  get  up. 
I  dismounted  and  raised  him  on  to  his  feet,  when  I  asked  him  if  he  was  hurt, 
to  which  he  replied  "  no,  but  I  might  have  been,"  when  he  instantly  fainted, 
and  I  laid  him  on  the  grass.  I  had  left  my  canteen  with  my  portmanteau, 
and  had  nothing  to  administer  to  him,  nor  was  there  water  near  us.  I  took 
my  lancet  from  my  pocket  and  was  tying  his  arm  to  open  a  vein,  when  he 
recovered,  and  objected  to  the  operation,  assuring  me  that  he  was  not  in  the 
least  injured.  I  caught  his  horse  and  soon  got  him  mounted  again,  when 
we  rode  on  together,  and  after  two  or  three  hours  were  enabled  to  join  the 
regiment. 

From  that  hour  to  the  present,  I  think  I  have  seen  a  decided  change  in 
the  General's  face ;  he  has  looked  pale  and  feeble,  and  been  continually 
troubled  with  a  violent  cough.  I  have  rode  by  the  side  of  him  from  day  to 
day,  and  he  several  times  told  me  that  he  was  fearful  he  was  badly  hurt.  He 
looks  very  feeble  now,  and  I  very  much  fear  the  result  of  the  fever  that  has 
set  in  upon  him. 

We  take  up  the  line  of  march  at  bugle-call  in  the  morning,  and  it  may 

H  2 


52 

be  a  long  time  before  I  can  send  a  Letter  again,  as  there  are  no  post-offices 
nor  mail  carriers  in  the  country  where  we  are  now  going.  It  will  take  a 
great  deal  to  stop  me  from  writing,  however,  and  as  I  am  now  to  enter  upon 
one  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the  Indian  country,  inasmuch  as  it 
is  one  of  the  wildest  and  most  hostile,  I  shall  surely  scribble  an  occasional 
Letter,  if  I  have  to  carry  them  in  my  own  pocket,  and  bring  them  in  with 
with  me  on  my  return. 


53 


LETTER-NO.  41. 


GREAT  CAMANCHEE  VILLAGE. 

WE  are  again  at  rest,  and  I  am  with  subjects  rude  and  almost  infinite  around 
me,  for  my  pen  and  my  brush.  The  little  band  of  dragoons  are  encamped 
by  a  fine  spring  of  cool  water,  within  half  a  mile  of  the  principal  town 
of  the  Camanchees,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  bustling  and  wild  scene,  I  assure 
you  ;  and  before  I  proceed  to  give  an  account  of  things  and  scenes  that  are 
about  me,  I  must  return  for  a  few  moments  to  the  place  where  I  left  the 
Reader,  at  the  encampment  at  False  Washita,  and  rapidly  travel  with  him 
over  the  country  that  lies  between  that  place  and  the  Camanchee  Village, 
where  I  am  now  writing. 

On  the  morning  after  my  last  Letter  was  written,  the  sound  and  efficient 
part  of  the  regiment  was  in  motion  at  nine  o'clock.  And  with  them,  my 
friend  "  Joe"  and  I,  with  our  provisions  laid  in,  and  all  snugly  arranged  on 
our  packhorse,  which  we  alternately  led  or  drove  between  us. 

Our  course  was  about  due  West,  on  the  divide  between  the  Washita  and 
Red  Rivers,  with  our  faces  looking  towards  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
country  over  which  we  passed  from  day  to  day,  was  inimitably  beautiful ; 
being  the  whole  way  one  continuous  prairie  of  green  fields,  with  occasional 
clusters  of  timber  and  shrubbery,  just  enough  for  the  uses  of  cultivating-man, 
and  for  the  pleasure  of  his  eyes  to  dwell  upon.  The  regiment  was  rather 
more  than  half  on  the  move,  consisting  of  250  men,  instead  of  200  as  I  pre 
dicted  in  my  Letter  from  that  place.  All  seemed  gay  and  buoyant  at  the 
fresh  start,  which  all  trusted  was  to  liberate  us  from  the  fatal  miasma  which 
we  conceived  was  hovering  about  the  mouth  of  the  False  Washita.  We 
advanced  on  happily,  and  met  with  no  trouble  until  the  second  night  of  our 
encampment,  in  the  midst  of  which  we  were  thrown  into  "  pie"  (as  printers 
would  say,)  in  an  instant  of  the  most  appalling  alarm  and  confusion.  We 
were  encamped  on  a  beautiful  prairie,  where  we  were  every  hour  apprehen 
sive  of  the  lurking  enemy.  And  in  the  dead  of  night,  when  all  seemed  to 
be  sound  asleep  and  quiet,  the  instant  sound  and  flash  of  a  gun  within  a  few 
paces  of  us !  and  then  the  most  horrid  and  frightful  groans  that  instantly 
followed  it,  brought  us  all  upon  our  hands  and  knees  in  an  instant,  and  our 
affrighted  horses  (which  were  breaking  their  lasos,)  in  full  speed  and  fury 
over  our  heads,  with  the  frightful  and  mingled  din  of  snorting,  and  cries  of 
"Indians!  Indians!  Pawnees!"  &c.,  which  rang  from  every  part  of  our 


54 

little  encampment !  In  a  few  moments  the  excitement  was  chiefly  over,  and 
silence  restored ;  when  we  could  hear  the  trampling  hoofs  of  the  horses, 
which  were  making  off  in  all  directions,  (not  unlike  a  drove  of  swine  that 
once  ran  into  the  sea,  when  they  were  possessed  of  devils)  ;  and  leaving  but 
now  and  then  an  individual  quadruped  hanging  at  its  stake  within  our  little 
camp.  The  mode  of  our  encampment  was,  uniformly,  in  four  lines,  forming 
a  square  of  fifteen  or  twenty  rods  in  diameter.  Upon  these  lines  our  saddles 
and  packs  were  all  laid,  at  the  distance  of  five  feet  from  each  other ;  and 
each  man,  after  grazing  his  horse,  had  it  fastened  with  a  rope  or  laso,  to  a 
stake  driven  in  the  ground  at  a  little  distance  from  his  feet ;  thus  enclosing 
the  horses  all  within  the  square,  for  the  convenience  of  securing  them  in  case 
of  attack  or  alarm.  In  this  way  we  laid  encamped,  when  we  were  awakened 
by  the  alarm  that  I  have  just  mentioned  ;  and  our  horses  affrighted,  dashed 
out  of  the  camp,  and  over  the  heads  of  their  masters  in  the  desperate 
"  Stampedo." 

After  an  instant  preparation  for  battle,  and  a  little  recovery  from  the  fright, 
which  was  soon  effected  by  waiting  a  few  moments  in  vain,  for  the  enemy  to 
come  on  ; — a  general  explanation  took  place,  which  brought  all  to  our  legs 
again,  and  convinced  us  that  there  was  no  decided  obstacle,  as  yet,  to  our 
reaching  the  Camanchee  towns  ;  and  after  that,  "  sweet  home,"  and  the 
arms  of  our  wives  and  dear  little  children,  provided  we  could  ever  overtake 
and  recover  our  horses,  which  had  swept  off  in  fifty  directions,  and  with 
impetus  enough  to  ensure  us  employment  for  a  day  or  two  to  come. 

At  the  proper  moment  for  it  to  be  made,  there  was  a  general  enquiry  for 
the  cause  of  this  real  misfortune,  when  it  was  ascertained  to  have  originated 
in  the  following  manner.  A  "  raw  recruit,"  who  was  standing  as  one  of 
the  sentinels  on  that  night,  saw,  as  he  says  "  he  supposed,"  an  Indian  creep 
ing  out  of  a  bunch  of  bushes  a  few  paces  in  front  of  him,  upon  whom  he 
levelled  his  rifle ;  and  as  the  poor  creature  did  not  "  advance  and  give  the 
countersign*  at  his  call,  nor  any  answer  at  all,  he  "  let  off!"  and  popped  a 
bullet  through  the  heart  of  a  poor  dragoon  horse,  which  had  strayed  away 
on  the  night  before,  and  had  faithfully  followed  our  trail  all  the  day,  and 
was  now,  with  a  beastly  misgiving,  coming  up,  and  slowly  poking  through 
a  little  thicket  of  bushes  into  camp,  to  join  its  comrades,  in  servitude  again  ! 

The  sudden  shock  of  a  gun,  and  the  most  appalling  groans  of  this  poor 
dying  animal,  in  the  dead  of  night,  and  so  close  upon  the  heels  of  sweet 
sleep,  created  a  long  vibration  of  nerves,  and  a  day  of  great  perplexity  and 
toil  which  followed,  as  we  had  to  retrace  our  steps  twenty  miles  or  more,  in 
pursuit  of  affrighted  horses ;  of  which  some  fifteen  or  twenty  took  up  wild 
and  free  life  upon  the  prairies,  to  which  they  were  abandoned,  as  they  could 
not  be  found.  After  a  detention  of  two  days  in  consequence  of  this  disaster, 
we  took  up  the  line  of  march  again,  and  pursued  our  course  with  vigour  and 
success,  over  a  continuation  of  green  fields,  enamelled  with  wild  flowers,  and 
pleasingly  relieved  with  patches  and  groves  of  timber. 


55 

On  the  fourth  day  of  our  march,  we  discovered  many  fresh  signs  of  buffa 
loes  ;  and  at  last,  immense  herds  of  them  grazing  on  the  distant  hills.  In 
dian  trails  were  daily  growing  fresh,  and  their  smokes  were  seen  in  various 
directions  ahead  of  us.  And  on  the  same  day  at  noon,  we  discovered  a  large 
party  at  several  miles  distance,  sitting  on  their  horses  and  looking  at  us. 
From  the  glistening  of  the  blades  of  their  lances,  which  were  blazing  as  they 
turned  them  in  the  sun,  it  was  at  first  thought  that  they  were  Mexican 
cavalry,  who  might  have  been  apprized  of  our  approach  into  their  country, 
and  had  advanced  to  contest  the  point  with  us.  On  drawing  a  little  nearer, 
however,  and  scanning  them  closer  with  our  spy-glasses,  they  were  soon  ascer 
tained  to  be  a  war-party  of  Camanchees,  on  the  look  out  for  their  enemies. 

The  regiment  was  called  to  a,  halt,  and  the  requisite  preparations  made  and 
orders  issued,  we  advanced  in  a  direct  line  towards  them  until  we  had  approach 
ed  to  within  two  or  three  miles  of  them,  when  they  suddenly  disappeared  over 
the  hill,  and  soon  after  shewed  themselves  on  another  mound  farther  off  and 
in  a  different  direction.  The  course  of  the  regiment  was  then  changed,  and 
another  advance  towards  them  was  commenced,  and  as  before,  they  disap 
peared  and  shewed  themselves  in  another  direction.  After  several  such 
efforts  which  proved  ineffectual,  Col.  Dodge  ordered  the  command  to  halt, 
while  he  rode  forward  with  a  few  of  his  staff,  and  an  ensign  carrying  a  white 
flag.  I  joined  this  advance,  and  the  Indians  stood  their  ground  until  we 
had  come  within  half  a  mile  of  them,  and  could  distinctly  observe  all  their 
numbers  and  movements.  We  then  came  to  a  halt,  and  the  white  flag  was 
sent  a  little  in  advance,  and  waved  as  a  signal  for  them  to  approach  ;  at 
which  one  of  their  party  galloped  out  in  advance  of  the  war-party,  on  a  milk 
white  horse,  carrying  a  piece  of  white  buffalo  skin  on  the  point  of  his  long 
lance  in  reply  to  our  flag. 

This  moment  was  the  commencement  of  one  of  the  most  thrilling  and 
beautiful  scenes  I  ever  witnessed.  All  eyes,  both  from  his  own  party  and 
ours,  were  fixed  upon  the  manoeuvres  of  this  gallant  little  fellow,  and  he  well 
knew  it. 

The  distance  between  the  two  parties  was  perhaps  half  a  mile,  and  that 
a  beautiful  and  gently  sloping:  prairie;  over  which  he  was  for  the  space  of  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  reining  and  spurring  his  maddened  horse,  and  gradually 
approaching  us  by  tacking  to  the  right  and  the  left,  like  a  vessel  beating 
against  the  wind.  He  at  length  came  prancing  and  leaping  along  till  he  met 
the  flag  of  the  regiment,  when  he  leaned  his  spear  for  a  moment  against  it, 
looking  the  bearer  full  in  the  face,  when  he  wheeled  his  horse,  and  dashed 
up  to  Col.  Dodge  (PLATE  157),  with  his  extended  hand,  which  was  instantly 
grasped  and  shaken.  We  all  had  him  by  the  hand  in  a  moment,  and  the 
rest  of  the  party  seeing  him  received  in  this  friendly  manner,  instead  of  being 
sacrificed,  as  they  undoubtedly  expected,  started  under  "full  whip"  in  a 
direct  line  towards  us,  and  in  a  moment  gathered,  like  a  black  cloud,  around 
us  !  The  regiment  then  moved  up  in  regular  order,  and  a  general  shake  of 


56 

the  hand  ensued,  which  was  accomplished  by  each  warrior  riding  along  the 
ranks,  and  shaking  the  hand  of  every  one  as  he  passed.  This  necessary  form 
took  up  considerable  time,  and  during  the  whole  operation,  my  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  the  gallant  and  wonderful  appearance  of  the  little  fellow  who  bore  us 
the  white  flag  on  the  point  of  his  lance.  He  rode  a  fine  and  spirited  wild 
horse,  which  was  as  white  as  the  drifted  snow,  with  an  exuberant  mane,  and 
its  long  and  bushy  tail  sweeping  the  ground.  In  his  hand  he  tightly  drew 
the  reins  upon  a  heavy  Spanish  bit,  and  at  every  jump,  plunged  into  the 
animal's  sides,  till  they  were  in  a  gore  of  blood,  a  huge  pair  of  spurs,  plun 
dered,  no  doubt,  from  the  Spaniards  in  their  border  wars,  which  are  con 
tinually  waged  on  the  Mexican  frontiers.  The  eyes  of  this  noble  little  steed 
seemed  to  be  squeezed  out  of  its  head  ;  and  its  fright,  and  its  agitation  had 
brought  out  upon  its  skin  a  perspiration  that  was  fretted  into  a  white  foam 
and  lather.  The  warrior's  quiver  was  slung  on  the  warrior's  back,  and  his  bow 
grasped  in  his  left  hand,  ready  for  instant  use,  if  called  for.  His  shield  was 
on  his  arm,  and  across  his  thigh,  in  a  beautiful  cover  of  buckskin,  his  gun 
was  slung — and  in  his  right  hand  his  lance  of  fourteen  feet  in  length. 

Thus  armed  and  equipped  was  this  dashing  cavalier;  and  nearly  in 
the  same  manner,  all  the  rest  of  the  party  ;  and  very  many  of  them  leading 
an  extra  horse,  which  we  soon  learned  was  the  favourite  war-horse ;  and 
from  which  circumstances  altogether,  we  soon  understood  that  they  were  a 
war-party  in  search  of  their  enemy. 

After  a  shake  of  the  hand,  we  dismounted,  and  the  pipe  was  lit,  and 
passed  around.  And  then  a  "  talk"  was  held,  in  which  we  were  aided  by  a 
Spaniard  we  luckily  had  with  us,  who  could  converse  with  one  of  the 
Camanchees,  who  spoke  some  Spanish. 

Colonel  Dodge  explained  to  them  the  friendly  motives  with  which  we 
were  penetrating  their  country — that  we  were  sent  by  the  President  to  reach 
their  villages — to  see  the  chiefs  of  the  Camanchees  and  Pawnee  Picts — to 
shake  hands  with  them,  and  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace,  and  to  establish 
an  acquaintance,  and  consequently  a  system  of  trade  that  would  be  bene 
ficial  to  both. 

They  listened  attentively,  and  perfectly  appreciated  ;  and  taking  Colonel 
Dodge  at  his  word,  relying  with  confidence  in  what  he  told  them ;  they  in 
formed  us  that  their  great  town  was  within  a  few  days'  march,  and  pointing 
in  the  direction — offered  to  abandon  their  war-excursion,  and  turn  about 
and  escort  us  to  it,  which  they  did  in  perfect  good  faith.  We  were  on  the 
march  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  and  from  day  to  day  they  busily  led  us 
on,  over  hill  and  dale,  encamping  by  the  side  of  us  at  night,  and  resuming 
the  march  in  the  morning. 

During  this  march,  over  one  of  the  most  lovely  and  picturesque  countries 
in  the  world,  we  had  enough  continually  to  amuse  and  excite  us.  The  whole 
country  seemed  at  times  to  be  alive  with  buffaloes,  and  bands  of  wild 
horses. 


\ 


57 

We  had  with  us  about  thirty  Osage  and  Cherokee,  Seneca  and  Delaware 
Indians,  employed  as  guides  and  hunters  for  the  regiment ;  and  with  the 
war-party  of  ninety  or  a  hundred  Camanchees,  we  formed  a  most  picturesque 
appearance  while  passing  over  the  green  fields ;  and  consequently,  sad 
havoc  amongst  the  herds  of  buffaloes,  which  we  were  almost  hourly  passing. 
We  were  now  out  of  the  influence  and  reach  of  bread  stuffs,  and  subsisted 
ourselves  on  buffaloes'  meat  altogether;  and  the  Indians  of  the  different  tribes, 
emulous  to  shew  their  skill  in  the  chase,  and  prove  the  mettle  of  their  horses, 
took  infinite  pleasure  in  dashing  into  every  herd  that  we  approached;  by  which 
means,  the  regiment  was  abundantly  supplied  from  day  to  day  with  fresh  meat. 

In  one  of  those  spirited  scenes  when  the  regiment  were  on  the  march,  and 
the  Indians  with  their  bows  and  arrows  were  closely  plying  a  band  of  these 
affrighted  animals,  they  made  a  bolt  through  the  line  of  the  dragoons,  and  a 
complete  breach,  through  which  the  whole  herd  passed,  upsetting  horses  and 
riders  in  the  most  amusing  manner  (PLATE  158),  and  receiving  such  shots 
as  came  from  those  guns  and  pistols  that  were  aimed,  and  not  fired  off  into 
the  empty  air. 

The  buffaloes  are  very  blind  animals,  and  owing,  probably  in  a  great 
measure,  to  the  profuse  locks  that  hang  over  their  eyes,  they  run  chiefly  by 
the  nose,  and  follow  in  the  tracks  of  each  other,  seemingly  heedless  of  what  is 
about  them  ;  and  of  course,  easily  disposed  to  rush  in  a  mass,  and  the  whole 
tribe  or  gang  to  pass  in  the  tracks  of  those  that  have  first  led  the  way. 

The  tract  of  country  over  which  we  passed,  between  the  False  Washita 
and  this  place,  is  stocked,  not  only  with  buffaloes,  but  with  numerous  bands 
of  wild  horses,  many  of  which  we  saw  every  day.  There  is  no  other  animal 
on  the  prairies  so  wild  and  so  sagacious  as  the  horse ;  and  none  other  so 
difficult  to  come  up  with.  So  remarkably  keen  is  their  eye,  that  they  will 
generally  run  "  at  the  sight,"  when  they  are  a  mile  distant ;  being,  no 
doubt,  able  to  distinguish  the  character  of  the  enemy  that  is  approaching 
when  at  that  distance ;  and  when  in  motion,  will  seldom  stop  short  of  three 
or  four  miles.  I  made  many  attempts  to  approach  them  by  stealth,  when 
they  were  grazing  and  playing  their  gambols,  without  ever  having  been 
more  than  once  able  to  succeed.  In  this  instance,  I  left  my  horse,  and 
with  my  friend  Chadwick,  skulked  through  a  ravine  for  a  couple  of  miles; 
until  we  were  at  length  brought  within  gun-shot  of  a  fine  herd  of  them,  when 
I  used  my  pencil  for  some  time,  while  we  were  under  cover  of  a  little  hedge 
of  bushes  which  effectually  screened  us  from  their  view.  In  this  herd  we 
saw  all  the  colours,  nearly,  that  can  be  seen  in  a  kennel  of  English  hounds. 
Some  were  milk  white,  some  jet  black — others  were  sorrel,  and  bay,  and 
cream  colour — many  were  of  an  iron  grey;  and  others  were  pied,  containing 
a  variety  of  colours  on  the  same  animal.  Their  manes  were  very  profuse,  and 
hanging  in  the  wildest  confusion  over  their  necks  and  faces — and  their  long 
tails  swept  the  ground  (see  PLATE  160). 

After  we  had  satisfied  our  curiosity  in  looking  at  these  proud  and  playful 

VOL    n.  i 


58 

animals,  we  agreed  that  we  would  try  the  experiment  of  "  creasing"  one, 
as  it  is  termed  in  this  country  ;  which  is  done  by  shooting  them  through  the 
gristle  on  the  top  of  the  neck,  which  stuns  them  so  that  they  fall,  and  are 
secured  with  the  hobbles  on  the  feet ;  after  which  they  rise  again  without 
fatal  injury.  This  is  a  practice  often  resorted  to  by  expert  hunters,  with 
good  rifles,  who  are  not  able  to  take  them  in  any  other  way.  My  friend 
Joe  and  I  were  armed  on  this  occasion,  each  with  a  light  fowling-piece, 
which  have  not  quite  the  preciseness  in  throwing  a  bullet  that  a  rifle  has  ; 
and  having  both  levelled  our  pieces  at  the  withers  of  a  noble,  fine-looking 
iron  grey,  we  pulled  trigger,  and  the  poor  creature  fell,  and  the  rest  of  the 
herd  were  out  of  sight  in  a  moment.  We  advanced  speedily  to  him,  and 
had  the  most  inexpressible  mortification  of  finding,  that  we  never  had  thought 
of  hobbles  or  halters,  to  secure  him — and  in  a  few  moments  more,  had  the 
still  greater  mortification,  and  even  anguish,  to  find  that  one  of  our  shots 
had  broken  the  poor  creature's  neck,  and  that  he  was  quite  dead  ! 

The  laments  of  poor  Chadwick  for  the  wicked  folly  of  destroying  this 
noble  animal,  were  such  as  I  never  shall  forget ;  and  so  guilty  did  we  feel 
that  we  agreed  that  when  we  joined  the  regiment,  we  should  boast  of  all 
the  rest  of  our  hunting  feats,  but  never  make  mention  of  this. 

The  usual  mode  of  taking  the  wild  horses,  is,  by  throwing  the  laso,  whilst 
pursuing  them  at  full  speed  (PLATE  161),  and  dropping  a  noose  over  their 
necks,  by  which  their  speed  is  soon  checked,  and  they  are  "  choked  down." 
The  laso  is  a  thong  of  rawhide,  some  ten  or  fifteen  yards  in  length,  twisted 
or  braided,  with  a  noose  fixed  at  the  end  of  it ;  which,  when  the  coil  of  the 
laso  is  thrown  out,  drops  with  great  certainty  over  the  neck  of  the  animal, 
which  is  soon  conquered. 

The  Indian,  when  he  starts  for  a  wild  horse,  mounts  one  of  the  fleetest 
he  can  get,  and  coiling  his  laso  on  his  arm,  starts  off  under  the  "  full  whip," 
till  he  can  enter  the  band,  when  he  soon  gets  it  over  the  neck  of  one  of  the 
number ;  when  he  instantly  dismounts,  leaving  his  own  horse,  and  runs  as 
fast  as  he  can,  letting  the  laso  pass  out  gradually  and  carefully  through  his 
hands,  until  the  horse  falls  for  want  of  breath,  and  lies  helpless  on  the 
ground  ;  at  which  time  the  Indian  advances  slowly  towards  the  horse's  head 
keeping  his  laso  tight  upon  its  neck,  until  he  fastens  a  pair  of  hobbles  on 
the  animal's  two  forefeet,  and  also  loosens  the  laso  (giving  the  horse  chance  to 
breathe),  and  gives  it  a  noose  around  the  under  jaw,  by  which  he  gets  great 
power  over  the  affrighted  animal,  which  is  rearing  and  plunging  when  it 
gets  breath  ;  and  by  which,  as  he  advances,  hand  over  hand,  towards  the 
horse's  nose  (PLATE  162),  he  is  able  to  hold  it  down  and  prevent  it  from 
throwing  itself  over  on  its  back,  at  the  hazard  of  its  limbs.  By  this  means 
he  gradually  advances,  until  be  is  able  to  place  his  hand  on  the  animal's 
nose,  and  over  its  eyes ;  and  at  length  to  breathe  in  its  nostrils,  when  it 
soon  becomes  docile  and  conquered ;  so  that  he  has  little  else  to  do  than  to 
remove  the  hobbles  from  its  feet,  and  lead  or  ride  it  into  camp. 


p 

_ 

... 


162 


59 

This  "breaking  down"  or  taming,  however,  is  not  without  the  most  des 
perate  trial  on  the  part  of  the  horse,  which  rears  and  plunges  in  every 
possible  way  to  effect  its  escape,  until  its  power  is  exhausted,  and  it  becomes 
covered  with  foam  ;  and  at  last  yields  to  the  power  of  rnan,  and  becomes 
his  willing  slave  for  the  rest  of  its  life.  By  this  very  rigid  treatment,  the 
poor  animal  seems  to  be  so  completely  conquered,  that  it  makes  no  further 
struggle  for  its  freedom  ;  but  submits  quietly  ever  after,  and  is  led  or  rode 
away  with  very  little  difficulty.  Great  care  is  taken,  however,  in  this  and 
in  subsequent  treatment,  not  to  subdue  the  spirit  of  the  animal,  which  is 
carefully  preserved  and  kept  up,  although  they  use  them  with  great  severity ; 
being,  generally  speaking,  cruel  masters. 

The  wild  horse  of  these  regions  is  a  small,  but  very  powerful  animal ; 
with  an  exceedingly  prominent  eye,  sharp  nose,  high  nostril,  small  feet  and 
delicate  leg ;  and  undoubtedly,  have  sprung  from  a  stock  introduced  by 
the  Spaniards,  at  the  time  of  the  invasion  of  Mexico  ;  which  having  strayed 
off  upon  the  prairies,  have  run  wild,  and  stocked  the  plains  from  this  to 
Lake  Winnepeg,  two  or  three  thousand  miles  to  the  North.* 

This  useful  animal  has  been  of  great  service  to  the  Indians  living  on  these 
vast  plains,  enabling  them  to  take  their  game  more  easily,  to  carry  their 
burthens,  &c.  ;  and  no  doubt,  render  them  better  and  handier  service  than 
if  they  were  of  a  larger  and  heavier  breed.  Vast  numbers  of  them  are  also 
killed  for  food  by  the  Indians,  at  seasons  when  buffaloes  and  other  game 
are  scarce.  They  subsist  themselves  both  in  winter  and  summer  by  biting 
at  the  grass,  which  they  can  always  get  in  sufficient  quantities  for  their 
food. 

Whilst  on  our  march  we  met  with  many  droves  of  these  beautiful  animals, 
and  several  times  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Indians  pursue  them, 
and  take  them  with  the  laso.  The  first  successful  instance  of  the  kind  was 
effected  by  one  of  our  guides  and  hunters,  by  the  name  of  Beatte,  a  French 
man,  whose  parents  had  lived  nearly  their  whole  lives  in  the  Osage  village ; 
and  who,  himself  had  been  reared  from  infancy  amongst  them ;  and  in  a 
continual  life  of  Indian  modes  and  amusements,  had  acquired  all  the  skill 
and  tact  of  his  Indian  teachers,  and  probably  a  little  more ;  for  he  is  reputed, 
without  exception,  the  best  hunter  in  these  Western  regions. 

This  instance  took  place  one  day  whilst  the  regiment  was  at  its  usual  halt 
of  an  hour,  in  the  middle  of  the  day. 

When  the  bugle  sounded  for  a  halt,  and  all  were  dismounted,  Beatte  and 
several  others  of  the  hunters  asked  permission  of  Col.  Dodge  to  pursue  a 
drove  of  horses  which  were  then  in  sight,  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  or  more 
from  us.  The  permission  was  given,  and  they  started  off,  and  by  following 

*  There  are  many  very  curious  traditions  about  tbe  first  appearance  of  horses  amongst 
the  different  tribes,  and  many  of  which  bear  striking  proof  of  the  above  fact.  Most 
of  the  tribes  have  some  story  about  the  first  appearance  of  horses  ;  and  amongst  the  Sioux, 
they  have  beautifully  recorded  the  fact,  by  giving  it  the  name  of  Shonka-wakon  (the  me- 
dicine-dog). 

l  2 


60 

a  ravine,  approached  near  to  the  unsuspecting  animals,  when  they  broke 
upon  them  and  pursued  them  for  several  miles  in  full  view  of  the  regiment. 
Several  of  us  had  good  glasses,  with  which  we  could  plainly  see  every  move 
ment  and  every  manoeuvre.  After  a  race  of  two  or  three  miles,  Beatte  was 
seen  with  his  wild  horse  down,  and  the  band  and  the  other  hunters  rapidly 
leaving-  him. 

Seeing  him  in  this  condition,  I  galloped  off  to  him  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  whole  operation  of  "  breaking  down," 
and  bringing  in  the  wild  animal ;  and  in  PLATE  162,  I  have  given  a  fair 
representation  of  the  mode  by  which  it  was  done.  When  he  had  conquered 
the  horse  in  this  way,  his  brother,  who  was  one  of  the  unsuccessful  ones  in 
the  chase,  came  riding  back,  and  leading  up  the  horse  of  Beatte  which  he 
had  left  behind,  and  after  staying  with  us  a  few  minutes,  assisted  Beatte  in 
leading  his  conquered  wild  horse  towards  the  regiment,  where  it  was  satis 
factorily  examined  and  commented  upon,  as  it  was  trembling  and  covered 
with  white  foam,  until  the  bugle  sounded  the  signal  for  marching,  when  all 
mounted  ;  and  with  the  rest,  Beatte,  astride  of  his  wild  horse,  which  had  a 
buffalo  skin  girted  on  its  back,  and  a  halter,  with  a  cruel  noose  around  the 
under  jaw.  In  this  manner  the  command  resumed  its  march,  and  Beatte 
astride  of  his  wild  horse,  on  which  he  rode  quietly  and  without  difficulty, 
until  night ;  the  whole  thing,  the  capture,  and  breaking,  all  having  been 
accomplished  within  the  space  of  one  hour,  our  usual  and  daily  halt  at 
midday. 

Several  others  of  these  animals  were  caught  in  a  similar  manner  during 
our  march,  by  others  of  our  hunters,  affording  us  satisfactory  instances  of 
this  most  extraordinary  and  almost  unaccountable  feat. 

The  horses  that  were  caught  were  by  no  means  very  valuable  specimens, 
being  rather  of  an  ordinary  quality ;  and  I  saw  to  my  perfect  satisfaction, 
that  the  finest  of  these  droves  can  never  be  obtained  in  this  way,  as  they 
take  the  lead  at  once,  when  they  are  pursued,  and  in  a  few  moments  will  be 
seen  half  a  mile  or  more  ahead  of  the  bulk  of  the  drove,  which  they  are 
leading  off.  There  is  not  a  doubt,  but  there  are  many  very  fine  and  valuable 
horses  amongst  these  herds ;  but  it  is  impossible  for  the  Indian  or  other 
hunter  to  take  them,  unless  it  be  done  by  "  creasing"  them,  as  I  have  before 
described  ;  which  is  often  done,  but  always  destroys  the  spirit  and  character 
of  the  animal. 

After  many  hard  and  tedious  days  of  travel,  we  were  at  last  told  by  our 
Camanchee  guides  that  we  were  near  their  village ;  and  having  led  us  to  the 
top  of  a  gently  rising  elevation  on  the  prairie,  they  pointed  to  their  village  at 
several  miles  distance,  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  most  enchanting  valleys 
that  human  eyes  ever  looked  upon.  The  general  course  of  the  valley  is 
from  N.  W.  to  S.  E  ,  of  several  miles  in  width,  with  a  magnificent  range  of 
mountains  rising  in  distance  beyond  ;  it  being,  without  doubt,  a  huge  "  spur" 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  composed  entirely  of  a  reddish  granite  or  gneis, 


61 

corresponding  with  the  other  links  of  this  stupendous  chain.  In  the  midst 
of  this  lovely  valley,  we  could  just  discern  amongst  the  scattering  shrubbery 
that  lined  the  banks  of  the  watercourses,  the  tops  of  the  Camanchee  wig 
wams,  and  the  smoke  curling  above  them.  The  valley,  for  a  mile  distant 
about  the  village,  seemed  speckled  with  horses  and  mules  that  were  grazing 
in  it.  The  chiefs  of  the  war-party  requested  the  regiment  to  halt,  until  they 
could  ride  in,  and  inform  their  people  who  were  coming.  We  then  dis 
mounted  for  an  hour  or  so ;  when  we  could  see  them  busily  running  and 
catching  their  horses  ;  and  at  length,  several  hundreds  of  their  braves  and 
warriors  came  out  at  full  speed  to  welcome  us,  and  forming  in  a  line  in  front 
of  us,  as  we  were  again  mounted,  presented  a  formidable  and  pleasing  ap 
pearance  (PLATE  163).  As  they  wheeled  their  horses,  they  very  rapidly 
formed  in  a  line,  and  "  dressed"  like  well-disciplined  cavalry.  The  regiment 
was  drawn  up  in  three  columns,  with  a  line  formed  in  front,  by  Colonel 
Dodge  and  his  staff,  in  which  rank  my  friend  Chadwick  and  I  were  also 
paraded  ;  when  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  whole  mano3uvre,  which  was  pic 
turesque  and  thrilling  in  the  extreme. 

In  the  centre  of  our  advance  was  stationed  a  white  flag,  and  the  Indians 
answered  to  it  with  one  which  they  sent  forward  and  planted  by  the  side  of  it.* 

The  two  lines  were  thus  drawn  up,  face  to  face,  within  twenty  or  thirty 
yards  of  each  other,  as  inveterate  foes  that  never  had  met ;  and,  to  the  ever 
lasting  credit  of  the  Camanchees,  whom  the  world  had  always  looked  upon 
as  murderous  and  hostile,  they  had  all  come  out  in  this  manner,  with  their 
heads  uncovered,  and  without  a  weapon  of  any  kind,  to  meet  a  war-party 
bristling  with  arms,  and  trespassing  to  the  middle  of  their  country.  They 
had  every  reason  to  look  upon  us  as  their  natural  enemy,  as  they  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  estimating  all  pale  faces  ;  and  yet,  instead  of  arms  or  defences, 
or  even  of  frowns,  they  galloped  out  and  looked  us  in  our  faces,  without  an 
expression  of  fear  or  dismay,  and  evidently  with  expressions  of  joy  and  im 
patient  pleasure,  to  shake  us  by  the  hand,  on  the  bare  assertion  of  Colonel 
Dodge,  which  had  been  made  to  the  chiefs,  that  "  we  came  to  see  them  on 
a  friendly  visit." 

After  we  had  sat  and  gazed  at  each  other  in  this  way  for  some  half  an 
hour  or  so,  the  head  chief  of  the  band  came  galloping  up  to  Colonel  Dodge, 
and  having  shaken  him  by  the  hand,  he  passed  on  to  the  other  officers  in 
turn,  and  then  rode  alongside  of  the  different  columns,  shaking  hands  with 
every  dragoon  in  the  regiment ;  he  was  followed  in  this  by  his  principal 

*  It  is  a  fact  which  I  deem  to  be  worth  noting  here,  that  amongst  all  Indian  tribes,  that 
I  have  yet  visited,  in  their  primitive,  as  well  as  improved  state,  the  white  Jiag  is  used  as  a 
flag  of  truce,  as  it  is  in  the  civilized  parts  of  the  world,  and  held  to  be  sacred  and  inviolable. 
The  chief  going  to  war  always  carries  it  in  some  form  or  other,  generally  of  a  piece  of  white 
bkin  or  bark,  rolled  on  a  small  stick,  and  carried  under  his  dress,  or  otherwise  ;  and  also  a 
red  flag,  either  to  be  unfurled  when  occasion  requires,  the  white  flag  as  a  truce,  and  the  red 
one  for  battle,  or,  as  they  say,  "  for  blood  " 


62 

chiefs  and  braves,  which  altogether  took  up  nearly  an  hour  longer,  when 
the  Indians  retreated  slowly  towards  their  village,  escorting  us  to  the  banks 
of  a  fine  clear  stream,  and  a  good  spring  of  fresh  water,  half  a  mile  from 
their  village,  which  they  designated  as  a  suitable  place  for  our  encampment, 
and  we  were  soon  bivouacked  at  the  place  from  which  I  am  now  scribbling. 

No  sooner  were  we  encamped  here  (or,  in  other  words,  as  soon  as  our 
things  were  thrown  upon  the  ground,)  Major  Mason,  Lieutenant  Wheelock, 
Captain  Brown,  Captain  Duncan,  my  friend  Chadwick  and  myself,  galloped 
off  to  the  village,  and  through  it  in  the  greatest  impatience  to  the  prairies, 
where  there  were  at  least  three  thousand  horses  and  mules  grazing ;  all  of  us 
eager  and  impatient  to  see  and  to  appropriate  the  splendid  Arabian  horses, 
which  we  had  so  often  heard  were  owned  by  the  Camanchee  warriors.  We 
galloped  around  busily,  and  glanced  our  eyes  rapidly  over  them  ;  and  all  soon 
returned  to  the  camp,  quite  "  crest  fallen"  and  satisfied,  that,  although 
there  were  some  tolerable  nags  amongst  this  medley  group  of  all  colours  and 
all  shapes,  the  beautiful  Arabian  we  had  so  often  heard  of  at  the  East,  as 
belonging  to  the  Camanchees,  must  either  be  a  great  ways  further  South 
than  this,  or  else  it  must  be  a  horse  of  the  imagination. 

The  Camanchee  horses  are  generally  small,  all  of  them  being  of  the  wild 
breed,  and  a  very  tough  and  serviceable  animal ;  and  from  what  I  can  learn 
here  of  the  chiefs,  there  are  yet,  farther  South,  and  nearer  the  Mexican  borders, 
some  of  the  noblest  animals  in  use  of  the  chiefs,  yet  I  do  not  know  that 
we  have  any  more  reason  to  rely  upon  this  information,  than  that  which  had 
made  our  horse-jockeys  that  we  have  with  us,  to  run  almost  crazy  for  the 
possession  of  those  we  were  to  find  at  this  place.  Amongst  the  immense  herds 
we  found  grazing  here,  one  third  perhaps  are  mules,  which  are  much  more 
valuable  than  the  horses. 

Of  the  horses,  the  officers  and  men  have  purchased  a  number  of  the  best, 
by  giving  a  very  inferior  blanket  and  butcher's  knife,  costing  in  all  about 
four  dollars  !  These  horses  in  our  cities  at  the  East,  independent  of  the  name, 
putting  them  upon  their  merits  alone,  would  be  worth  from  eighty  to  one 
hundred  dollars  each,  and  not  more. 

A  vast  many  of  such  could  be  bought  on  such  terms,  and  are  hourly 
brought  into  camp  for  sale.  If  we  had  goods  to  trade  for  them,  and  means 
of  getting  them  home,  a  great  profit  could  be  made,  which  can  easily  be 
learned  from  the  following  transaction  that  took  place  yesterday.  A  fine  look 
ing  Indian  was  hanging  about  my  tent  very  closely  for  several  days,  and  con 
tinually  scanning  an  old  and  half-worn  cotton  umbrella,  which  I  carried  over 
me  to  keep  off  the  sun,  as  I  was  suffering  with  fever  and  ague,  and  at  last 
proposed  to  purchase  it  of  me,  with  a  very  neat  limbed  and  pretty  pied  horse 
which  he  was  riding.  He  proposed  at  first,  that  I  should  give  him  a  knife  and 
the  umbrella,  but  as  I  was  not  disposed  for  the  trade  (the  umbrella  being  so 
useful  an  article  to  me,  that  I  did  not  know  how  to  part  with  it,  not  knowing 
whether  there  was  another  in  the  regiment) ;  he  came  a  second  time,  and 


^ 


63 

offered  me  the  horse  for  the  umbrella  alone,  which  offer  I  still  rejected ;  and 
he  went  back  to  the  village,  and  soon  returned  with  another  horse  of  a  much 
better  quality,  supposing  that  I  had  not  valued  the  former  one  equal  to  the 
umbrella. 

With  this  he  endeavoured  to  push  the  trade,  and  after  1  had  with  great 
difficulty  made  him  understand  that  I  was  sick,  and  could  not  part  with  it, 
he  turned  and  rode  back  towards  the  village,  and  in  a  short  time  returned 
again  with  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  mules  I  ever  saw,  proposing  that, 
which  I  also  rejected  ;  when  he  disappeared  again. 

In  a  few  moments  my  friend  Captain  Duncan,  in  whose  hospitable  tent  I 
was  quartered,  came  in,  and  the  circumstance  being  related  to  him,  started 
up  some  warm  jockey  feelings,  which  he  was  thoroughly  possessed  of,  when 

he  instantly  sprang  upon  his  feet,  and  exclaimed,  "  d mn  the  fellow  ! 

where  is  he  gone  ?  here,  Gosset !  get  my  old  umbrella  out  of  the  pack,  I 
rolled  it  up  with  my  wiper  and  the  frying-pan — get  it  as  quick  as  lightning  !" 
with  it  in  his  hand,  the  worthy  Captain  soon  overtook  the  young  man,  and 
escorted  him  into  the  village,  and  returned  in  a  short  time — not  with  the 
mule,  but  with  the  second  horse  that  had  been  offered  to  me. 


64 


LETTER— No.  42. 


GREAT  CAMANCHEE  VILLAGE. 

THE  village  of  the  Camanchees  by  the  side  of  which  we  are  encamped,  is 
composed  of  six  or  eight  hundred  skin-covered  lodges,  made  of  poles  and 
buffalo  skins,  in  the  manner  precisely  as  those  of  the  Sioux  and  other  Mis 
souri  tribes,  of  which  I  have  heretofore  given  some  account.  This  village 
with  its  thousands  of  wild  inmates,  with  horses  and  dogs,  and  wild  sports 
and  domestic  occupations,  presents  a  most  curious  scene  ;  and  the  manners 
and  looks  of  the  people,  a  rich  subject  for  the  brush  and  the  pen. 

In  the  view  I  have  made  of  it  (PLATE  164),  but  a  small  portion  of  the  village 
is  shewn ;  which  is  as  well  as  to  shew  the  whole  of  it,  inasmuch  as  the  wigwams, 
as  well  as  the  customs,  are  the  same  in  every  part  of  it.  In  the  foreground  is  seen 
the  wigwam  of  the  chief ;  and  in  various  parts,  crotches  and  poles,  on  which 
the  women  are  drying  meat,  and  "  graining  "  buffalo  robes.  These  people, 
living  in  a  country  where  buffaloes  are  abundant,  make  their  wigwams  more 
easily  of  their  skins,  than  of  anything  else ;  and  with  them  find  greater 
facilities  of  moving  about,  as  circumstances  often  require ;  when  they  drag 
them  upon  the  poles  attached  to  their  horses,  and  erect  them  again  with 
little  trouble  in  their  new  residence. 

We  white  men,  strolling  about  amongst  their  wigwams,  are  looked  upon 
with  as  much  curiosity  as  if  we  had  come  from  the  moon ;  and  evidently 
create  a  sort  of  chill  in  the  blood  of  children  and  dogs,  when  we  make  our 
appearance.  I  was  pleased  to-day  with  the  simplicity  of  a  group  which  came 
out  in  front  of  the  chiefs  lodg^  to  scrutinize  my  faithful  friend  Chadwick  and 
I,  as  we  were  strolling  about  the  avenues  and  labyrinths  of  their  village ; 
upon  which  I  took  out  my  book  and  sketched  as  quick  as  lightning,  whilst 
"  Joe"  rivetted  their  attention  by  some  ingenious  trick  or  other,  over  my 
shoulders,  which  I  did  not  see,  having  no  time  to  turn  my  head  (PLATE  165). 
These  were,  the  juvenile  parts  of  the  chiefs  family,  and  all  who  at  this  mo 
ment  were  at  home ;  the  venerable  old  man,  and  his  three  or  four  wives, 
making  a  visit,  like  hundreds  of  others,  to  the  encampment. 

In  speaking  just  above,  of  the  mode  of  moving  their  wigwams,  and  chang 
ing  their  encampments,  I  should  have  said  a  little  more,  and  should  also 
have  given  to  the  reader,  a  sketch  of  one  of  these  extraordinary  scenes,  which 
I  have  had  the  good  luck  to  witness  (PLATE  166) ;  where  several  thousands 


;  t  I   ' 
- 


k.  - 


65 

were  on  the  march,  and  furnishing  one  of  those  laughable  scenes  which  daily 
happen,  where  so  many  dogs,  and  so  many  squaws,  are  travelling  in  such  a 
confused  mass ;  with  so  many  conflicting  interests,  and  so  many  local  and 
individual  rights  to  be  pertinaciously  claimed  and  protected.  Each  horse 
drags  his  load,  and  each  dog,  i.  e.  each  dog  that  will  do  it  (and  there  are 
many  that  will  not),  also  dragging  his  wallet  on  a  couple  of  poles  ;  and  each 
squaw  with  her  load,  and  all  together  (notwithstanding  their  burthens) 
cherishing  their  pugnacious  feelings,  which  often  bring  them  into  general 
conflict,  commencing  usually  amongst  the  dogs,  and  sure  to  result  in  fisti 
cuffs  of  the  women  ;  whilst  the  men,  riding  leisurely  on  the  right  or  the  left, 
take  infinite  pleasure  in  overlooking  these  desperate  conflicts,  at  which  they 
are  sure  to  have  a  laugh,  and  in  which,  as  sure  never  to  lend  a  hand. 

The  Camanchees,  like  the  Northern  tribes,  have  many  games,  and  in 
pleasant  weather  seem  to  be  continually  practicing  more  or  less  of  them,  on 
the  prairies,  back  of,  and  contiguous  to,  their  village. 

In  their  ball-plays,  and  some  other  games,  they  are  far  behind  the 
Sioux  and  others  of  the  Northern  tribes  ;  but,  in  racing  horses  and  riding, 
they  are  not  equalled  by  any  other  Indians  on  the  Continent.  Racing 
horses,  it  would  seem,  is  a  constant  and  almost  incessant  exercise,  and 
their  principal  mode  of  gambling;  and  perhaps,  a  more  finished  set  of 
jockeys  are  not  to  be  found.  The  exercise  of  these  people,  in  a  country 
where  horses  are  so  abundant,  and  the  country  so  fine  for  riding,  is  chiefly 
done  on  horseback  ;  and  it  "  stands  to  reason,"  that  such  a  people,  who 
have  been  practicing  from  their  childhood,  should  become  exceedingly 
expert  in  this  wholesome  and  beautiful  exercise.  Amongst  their  feats  of 
riding,  there  is  one  that  has  astonished  me  more  than  anything  of  the  kind 
I  have  ever  seen,  or  expect  to  see,  in  my  life  : — a  stratagem  of  war,  learned 
and  practiced  by  every  young  man  in  the  tribe  ;  by  which  he  is  able  to  drop 
his  body  upon  the  side  of  his  horse  at  the  instant  he  is  passing,  effectually 
screened  from  his  enemies'  weapons  (PLATE  167)  as  he  lays  in  a  horizontal 
position  behind  the  body  of  his  horse,  with  his  heel  hanging  over  the  horses' 
back  ;  by  which  he  has  the  power  of  throwing  himself  up  again,  and  changing 
to  the  other  side  of  the  horse  if  necessary.  In  this  wonderful  condition,  he 
will  hang  whilst  his  horse  is  at  fullest  speed,  carrying  with  him  his  bow  and 
his  shield,  and  also  his  long  lance  of  fourteen  feet  in  length,  all  or  either  of 
which  he  will  wield  upon  his  enemy  as  he  passes ;  rising  and  throwing  his 
arrows  over  the  horse's  back,  or  with  equal  ease  and  equal  success  under 
the  horse's  neck.*  This  astonishing  feat  which  the  young  men  have  been 
repeatedly  playing  off  to  our  surprise  as  well  as  amusement,  whilst  they  have 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  conversed  with  some  of  the  young  men  of  the  Paw 
nees,  who  practice  the  same  feat,  and  who  told  me  they  could  throw  the  arrow  from  under 
the  horse's  belly,  and  elevate  it  upon  an  enemy  with  deadly  effect! 

This  feat  I  did  not  see  performed,  but  from  what  I  did  see,  I  feel  inclined  to  believe  that 
these  young  men  were  boasting  of  no  more  than  they  were  able  to  perform. 
VOL.    II.  K 


66 

been  galloping  about  in  front  of  our  tents,  completely  puzzled  the  whole  of 
us ;  and  appeared  to  be  the  result  of  magic,  rather  than  of  skill  acquired  by 
practice.  I  had  several  times  great  curiosity  to  approach  them,  ^o  ascertain 
by  what  means  their  bodies  could  be  suspended  in  this  manner,  where  nothing 
could  be  seen  but  the  heel  hanging  over  the  horse's  back.  In  these  endea 
vours  I  was  continually  frustrated,  until  one  day  I  coaxed  a  young  fellow  up 
within  a  little  distance  of  me,  by  offering  him  a  few  plugs  of  tobacco,  and  he 
in  a  moment  solved  the  difficulty,  so  far  as  to  render  it  apparently  more 
feasible  than  before  ;  yet  leaving  it  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  results  of 
practice  and  persevering  endeavours.  I  found  on  examination,  that  a  shorthair 
halter  was  passed  around  under  the  neck  of  the  horse,  and  both  ends  tightly 
braided  into  the  mane,  on  the  withers,  leaving  a  loop  to  hang  under  the  neck, 
and  against  the  breast,  which,  being  caught  up  in  the  hand,  makes  a  sling  into 
which  the  elbow  falls,  taking  the  weight  of  the  body  on  the  middle  of  the 
upper  arm.  Into  this  loop  the  rider  drops  suddenly  and  fearlessly,  leaving 
his  heel  to  hang  over  the  back  of  the  horse,  to  steady  him,  and  also  to  restore 
him  when  he  wishes  to  regain  his  upright  position  on  the  horse's  back. 

Besides  this  wonderful  art,  these  people  have  several  other  feats  of  horse 
manship,  which  they  are  continually  showing  off;  which  are  pleasing  and 
extraordinary,  and  of  which  they  seem  very  proud.  A  people  who  spend  so 
very  great  a  part  of  their  lives,  actually  on  their  horses'  backs,  must 
needs  become  exceedingly  expert  in  every  thing  that  pertains  to  riding — to 
war,  or  to  the  chase  ;  and  I  am  ready,  without  hesitation,  to  pronounce  the 
Camanchees  the  most  extraordinary  horsemen  that  1  have  seen  yet  in  all  my 
travels,  and  I  doubt  very  much  whether  any  people  in  the  world  can  surpass 
them. 

The  Camanchees  are  in  stature,  rather  low,  and  in  person,  often  approach 
ing  to  corpulency.  In  their  movements,  they  are  heavy  and  ungraceful ; 
and  on  their  feet,  one  of  the  most  unattractive  and  slovenly-looking  races  of 
Indians  that  I  have  ever  seen ;  but  the  moment  they  mount  their  horses, 
they  seem  at  once  metamorphosed,  and  surprise  the  spectator  with  the  ease 
and  elegance  of  their  movements.  A  Camanchee  on  his  feet  is  out  of  his 
element,  and  comparatively  almost  as  awkward  as  a  monkey  on  the  ground, 
without  a  limb  or  a  branch  to  cling  to  ;  but  the  moment  he  lays  his  hand 
upon  his  horse,  his/ace,  even, becomes  handsome,  and  he  gracefully  flies  away 
like  a  different  being. 

Our  encampment  is  surrounded  by  continual  swarms  of  old  and  young — 
of  middle  aged — of  male  and  female — of  dogs,  and  every  moving  thing  that 
constitutes  their  community ;  and  our  tents  are  lined  with  the  chiefs  and  other 
worthies  of  the  tribe.  So  it  will  be  seen  there  is  no  difficulty  of  getting  sub 
jects  enough  for  my  brush,  as  well  as  for  my  pen,  whilst  residing  in  this  place. 
The  head  chief  of  this  village,  who  is  represented  to  us  here,  as  the  head 
of  the  nation,  is  a  mild  and  pleasant  looking  gentleman,  without  anything 
striking  or  peculiar  in  his  looks  (PLATE  168);  dressed  in  a  very  humble 


170 


67 

manner,  with  very  few  ornaments  upon  him,  and  his  hair  carelessly  falling 
about  his  face,  and  over  his  shoulders.  The  name  of  this  chief  is  Ee-shah- 
ko-nee  (the  bow  and  quiver).  The  only  ornaments  to  be  seen  about  him 
were  a  couple  of  beautiful  shells  worn  in  his  ears,  and  a  boar's  tusk  attached 
to  his  neck,  and  worn  on  his  breast. 

For  several  days  after  we  arrived  at  this  place,  there  was  a  huge  mass 
of  flesh  (PLATE  169),  Ta-wah-que-nah  (the  mountain  of  rocks),  who  was 
put  forward  as  head  chief  of  the  tribe  ;  and  all  honours  were  being  paid  to 
him  by  the  regiment  of  dragoons,  until  the  above-mentioned  chief  arrived 
from  the  country,  where  it  seems  he  was  leading  a  war-party ;  and  had  been 
sent  for,  no  doubt,  on  the  occasion.  When  he  arrived,  this  huge  monster, 
who  is  the  largest  and  fattest  Indian  I  ever  saw,  stepped  quite  into  the  back 
ground,  giving  way  to  this  admitted  chief,  who  seemed  to  have  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  the  whole  tribe. 

This  enormous  man,  whose  flesh  would  undoubtedly  weigh  three  hundred 
pounds  or  more,  took  the  most  wonderful  strides  in  the  exercise  of  his  tem 
porary  authority;  which,  in  all  probability,  he  was  lawfully  exercising  in  the 
absence  of  his  superior,  as  second  chief  of  the  tribe. 

A  perfect  personation  of  Jack  FalstafT,  in  size  and  in  figure,  with  an  African 
face,  and  a  beard  on  his  chin  of  two  or  three  inches  in  length.  His  name, 
he  tells  me,  he  got  from  having  conducted  a  large  party  of  Camanchees 
through  a  secret  and  subterraneous  passage,  entirely  through  the  mountain 
of  granite  rocks,  which  lies  back  of  their  village  ;  thereby  saving  their  lives 
from  their  more  powerful  enemy,  who  had  "  cornered  them  up"  in  such  a 
way,  that  there  was  no  other  possible  mode  for  their  escape.  The  mountain 
under  which  he  conducted  them,  is  called  Ta-wah-que-nah  (the  mountain 
of  rocks),  and  from  this  he  has  received  his  name,  which  would  certainly  have 
been  far  more  appropriate  if  it  had  been  a  mountain  of  flesh, 

Corpulency  is  a  thing  exceedingly  rare  to  be  found  in  any  of  the  tribes, 
amongst  the  men,  owing,  probably,  to  the  exposed  and  active  sort  of  lives 
they  lead  ;  and  that  in  the  absence  of  all  the  spices  of  life,  many  of  which 
have  their  effect  in  producing  this  disgusting,  as  well  as  unhandy  and  awk 
ward  extravagance  in  civilized  society. 

Ish-a-ro-yeh  (he  who  carries  a  wolf,  PLATE  170)  ;  and  Is-sa-wah-tam-ah 
(the  wolf  tied  with  hair,  PLATE  171)  ;  are  also  chiefs  of  some  standing  in  the 
tribe,  and  evidently  men  of  great  influence,  as  they  were  put  forward  by  the 
head  chiefs,  for  their  likenesses  to  be  painted  in  turn,  after  their  own.  The 
first  of  the  two  seemed  to  be  the  leader  of  the  war- party  which  we  met,  and 
of  which  I  have  spoken  ;  and  in  escorting  us  to  their  village,  this  man  took 
the  lead  and  piloted  us  the  whole  way,  in  consequence  of  which  Colonel 
Dodge  presented  him  a  very  fine  gun. 

His-oo-san-ches  (the  Spaniard,  PLATE  172),  a  gallant  little  fellow,  is 
represented  to  us  as  one  of  the  leading  warriors  of  the  tribe  ;  and  no  doubt 
is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  men  at  present  living  in  these  regions. 

K  2 


68 

He  is  half  Spanish,  and  being  a  half-breed,  for  whom  they  generally  have 
the  most  contemptuous  feelings,  he  has  been  all  his  life  thrown  into  the 
front  of  battle  and  danger ;  at  which  posts  he  has  signalized  himself,  and 
commanded  the  highest  admiration  and  respect  of  the  tribe,  for  his  daring 
and  adventurous  career.  This  is  the  man  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken, 
who  dashed  out  so  boldly  from  the  war-party,  and  came  to  us  with  the 
white  flag  raised  on  the  point  of  his  lance,  and  of  whom  I  have  made  a 
sketch  in  PLATE  157.  I  have  here  represented  him  as  he  stood  for  me,  with 
his  shield  on  his  arm,  with  his  quiver  slung,  and  his  lance  of  fourteen  feet 
in  length  in  his  right  hand.  This  extraordinary  little  man,  whose  figure  was 
light,  seemed  to  be  all  bone  and  muscle,  and  exhibited  immense  power,  by 
the  curve  of  the  bones  in  his  legs  and  his  arms.  We  had  many  exhibitions 
of  his  extraordinary  strength,  as  well  as  agility ;  and  of  his  gentlemanly 
politeness  and  friendship,  we  had  as  frequent  evidences.  As  an  instance  of 
this,  I  will  recite  an  occurrence  which  took  place  but  a  few  days  since,  when 
we  were  moving  our  encampment  to  a  more  desirable  ground  on  another  side 
of  their  village.  We  had  a  deep  and  powerful  stream  to  ford,  when  we  had 
several  men  who  were  sick,  and  obliged  to  be  carried  on  litters.  My  friend 
"  Joe"  and  I  came  up  in  the  rear  of  the  regiment,  where  the  litters  with  the 
sick  were  passing,  and  we  found  this  little  fellow  up  to  his  chin  in  the 
muddy  water,  wading  and  carrying  one  end  of  each  litter  on  his  head,  as 
they  were  in  turn,  passed  over.  After  they  had  all  passed,  this  gallant  little 
fellow  beckoned  to  me  to  dismount,  and  take  a  seat  on  his  shoulders,  which 
I  declined ;  preferring  to  stick  to  my  horse's  back,  which  I  did,  as  he  took 
it  by  the  bridle  and  conducted  it  through  the  shallowest  ford.  When  I  was 
across,  I  took  from  my  belt  a  handsome  knife  and  presented  it  to  him,  which 
seemed  to  please  him  very  much. 

Besides  the  above-named  chiefs  and  warriors,  I  painted  the  portrait  of 
Kots-o-ko-ro-ko  (the  hair  of  the  bull's  neck)  ;  and  Hah-nee  (the  beaver)  ; 
the  first,  a  chief,  and  the  second,  a  warrior  of  terrible  aspect,  and  also  of 
considerable  distinction.  These  and  many  other  paintings,  as  well  as  manu 
factures  from  this  tribe,  may  be  always  seen  in  my  MUSEUM,  if  I  have  the 
good  luck  to  get  them  safe  home  from  this  wild  and  remote  region. 

From  what  I  have  already  seen  of  the  Camanchees,  I  am  fully  convinced 
that  they  are  a  numerous  and  very  powerful  tribe,  and  quite  equal  in  num 
bers  and  prowess,  to  the  accounts  generally  given  of  them. 

It  is  entirely  impossible  at  present  to  make  a  correct  estimate  of  their 
numbers ;  but  taking  their  own  account  of  villages  they  point  to  in  such 
numbers,  South  of  the  banks  of  the  Red  River,  as  well  as  those  that  lie 
farther  West,  and  undoubtedly  North  of  its  banks,  they  must  be  a  very 
numerous  tribe ;  and  I  think  I  am  able  to  say,  from  estimates  that  these 
chiefs  have  made  me,  that  they  number  some  30  or  40,000 — being  able  to 
shew  some  6  or  7000  warriors,  well-mounted  and  well-armed.  This  estimate 
I  offer  not  as  conclusive,  for  so  little  is  as  yet  known  of  these  people,  that 


172 


69 

no  estimate  can  be  implicitly  relied  upon  other  than  that,  which,  in  general 
terms,  pronounces  them  to  be  a  very  numerous  and  warlike  tribe. 

We  shall  learn  much  more  of  them  before  we  get  out  of  their  country  ; 
and  I  trust  that  it  will  yet  be  in  my  power  to  give  something  like  a  fair 
census  of  them  before  we  have  done  with  them. 

They  speak  much  of  their  allies  and  friends,  the  Pawnee  Picts,  living  to 
the  West  some  three  or  four  days'  march,  whom  we  are  going  to  visit  in  a 
few  days,  and  afterwards  return  to  this  village,  and  then  "  bend  our  course" 
homeward,  or,  in  other  words,  back  to  Fort  Gibson.  Besides  the  Pawnee 
Picts,  there  are  the  Kiowas  and  Wicos ;  small  tribes  that  live  in  the  same 
vicinity,  and  also  in  the  same  alliance,  whom  we  shall  probably  see  on  our 
march.  Every  preparation  is  now  making  to  be  off  in  a  few  days — and  I 
shall  omit  further  remarks  on  the  Camanchees,  until  we  return,  when  I  shall 
probably  have  much  more  to  relate  of  them  and  their  customs.  So  many 
of  the  men  and  officers  are  getting  sick,  that  the  little  command  will  be 
very  much  crippled,  from  the  necessity  we  shall  be  under,  of  leaving  about 
thirty  sick,  and  about  an  equal  number  of  well  to  take  care  of  and  protect 
them ;  for  which  purpose,  we  are  constructing  a  fort,  with  a  sort  of  breast 
work  of  timbers  and  bushes,  which  will  be  ready  in  a  day  or  two ;  and 
the  sound  part  of  the  command  prepared  to  start  with  several  Camanchee 
leaders,  who  have  agreed  to  pilot  the  way. 


70 


LETTER-NO.  43. 


GREAT  CAMANCHEE  VILLAGE. 

THE  above  Letter  it  will  be  seen,  was  written  sometime  ago,  and  when  all 
hands  (save  those  who  were  too  sick)  were  on  the  start  for  the  Pawnee 
village.  Amongst  those  exceptions  was  I,  before  the  hour  of  starting  had 
arrived  ;  and  as  the  dragoons  have  made  their  visit  there  and  returned  in  a 
most  jaded  condition,  and  I  have  again  got  well  enough  to  write,  I  will 
render  some  account  of  the  excursion,  which  is  from  the  pen  and  the  pencil 
of  my  friend  Joe,  who  went  with  them  and  took  my  sketch  and  note-books 
in  his  pocket. 

"  We  were  four  days  travelling  over  a  beautiful  country,  most  of  the  way 
prairie,  and  generally  along  near  the  base  of  a  stupendous  range  of  moun 
tains  of  reddish  granite,  in  many  places  piled  up  to  an  immense  height  with 
out  tree  or  shrubbery  on  them ;  looking  as  if  they  had  actually  dropped  from 
the  clouds  in  such  a  confused .  mass,  and  all  lay  where  they  had  fallen. 
Such  we  found  the  mountains  enclosing  the  Pawnee  village,  on  the  bank  of 
Red  River,  about  ninety  miles  from  the  Camanchee  town.  The  dragoon 
regiment  was  drawn  up  within  half  a  mile  or  so  of  this  village,  and  encamped 
in  a  square,  where  we  remained  three  days.  We  found  here  a  very  nume 
rous  village,  containing  some  five  or  six  hundred  wigwams,  all  made  of  long 
prairie  grass,  thatched  over  poles  which  are  fastened  in  the  ground  and  bent 
in  at  the  top  ;  giving  to  them,  in  distance,  the  appearance  of  straw  beehives, 
as  in  PLATE  173,  which  is  an  accurate  view  of  it,  shewing  the  Red  River  in 
front,  and  the  "  mountains  of  rocks"  behind  it. 

"  To  our  very  great  surprise,  we  have  found  these  people  cultivating  quite 
extensive  fields  of  corn  (maize),  pumpkins,  melons,  beans  and  squashes  ;  so, 
with  these  aids,  and  an  abundant  supply  of  buffalo  meat,  they  may  be  said 
to  be  living  very  well. 

"  The  next  day  after  our  arrival  here,  Colonel  Dodge  opened  a  council  with 
the  chiefs,  in  the  chiefs  lodge,  where  he  had  the  most  of  his  officers  around 
him.  He  first  explained  to  them  the  friendly  views  with  which  he  came  to 
see  them ;  and  of  the  wish  of  our  Government  to  establish  a  lasting  peace 
with  them,  which  they  seemed  at  once  to  appreciate  and  highly  to  estimate. 

"  The  head  chief  of  the  tribe  is  a  very  old  man,  and  he  several  times  replied 


u-.l  ,i 


176 


177 


71 

to  Colonel  Dodge  in  a  very  eloquent  manner  ;  assuring  him  of  the  friendly 
feelings  of  his  chiefs  and  warriors  towards  the  pale  faces,  in  the  direction 
from  whence  we  came. 

"  After  Colonel  Dodge  had  explained  in  general  terms,  the  objects  of  our 
visit,  he  told  them  that  he  should  expect  from  them  some  account  of  the  foul 
murder  of  Judge  Martin  and  his  family  on  the  False  Washita,  which  had 
been  perpetrated  but  a  few  weeks  before,  and  which  the  Camanchees  had 
told  us  was  done  by  the  Pawnee  Picts.  The  Colonel  told  them,  also,  that 
he  learned  from  the  Camanchees,  that  they  had  the  little  boy,  the  son  of  the 
murdered  gentleman,  in  their  possession  ;  and  that  he  should  expect  them 
to  deliver  him  up,  as  an  indispensable  condition  of  the  friendly  arrangement 
that  was  now  making.  They  positively  denied  the  fact,  and  all  knowledge 
of  it ;  firmly  assuring  us  that  they  knew  nothing  of  the  murder,  or  of  the 
boy.  The  demand  was  repeatedly  made,  and  as  often  denied  ;  until  at 
length  a  negro-man  was  discovered,  who  was  living  with  the  Pawnees,  who 
spoke  good  English  ;  and  coming  into  the  council-house,  gave  information 
that  such  a  boy  had  recently  been  brought  into  their  village,  and  was  now  a 
prisoner  amongst  them.  This  excited  great  surprise  and  indignation  in  the 
council,  and  Colonel  Dodge  then  informed  the  chiefs  that  the  council  would 
rest  here  ;  and  certainly  nothing  further  of  a  peaceable  nature  would  tran 
spire  until  the  boy  was  brought  in.  In  this  alarming  dilemma,  all  remained 
in  gloomy  silence  for  awhile;  when  Colonel  Dodge  further  informed  the 
chiefs,  that  as  an  evidence  of  his  friendly  intentions  towards  them,  he  had, 
on  starting,  purchased  at  a  very  great  price,  from  their  enemies  the  Osages, 
two  Pawnee  (and  one  Kiowa)  girls ;  which  had  been  held  by  them  for  some 
years  as  prisoners,  and  which  he  had  brought  the  whole  way  home,  and  had 
here  ready  to  be  delivered  to  their  friends  and  relations  ;  but  whom  he  cer 
tainly  would  never  show,  until  the  little  boy  was  produced.  He  also  made 
another  demand,  which  was  for  the  restoration  of  an  United  States  ranger, 
by  the  name  of  Abbe,  who  had  been  captured  by  them  during  the  summer 
before.  They  acknowledged  the  seizure  of  this  man,  and  all  solemnly  de 
clared  that  he  had  been  taken  by  a  party  of  the  Camanchees,  over  whom  they 
had  no  controul,  and  carried  beyond  the  Red  River  into  the  Mexican  pro 
vinces,  where  he  was  put  to  death.  They  held  a  long  consultation  about  the 
boy,  and  seeing  their  plans  defeated  by  the  evidence  of  the  negro  ;  and  also 
being  convinced  of  the  friendly  disposition  of  the  Colonel,  by  bringing  home 
their  prisoners  from  the  Osages,  they  sent  out  and  had  the  boy  brought  in, 
from  the  middle  of  a  corn-field,  where  he  had  been  secreted.  He  is  a  smart 
and  very  intelligent  boy  of  nine  years  of  age,  and  when  he  came  in,  he  was 
entirely  naked,  as  they  keep  their  own  boys  of  that  age.  There  was  a  great 
excitement  in  the  council  when  the  little  fellow  was  brought  in  ;  and  as  he 
passed  amongst  them,  he  looked  around  and  exclaimed  with  some  surprise, 
"What!  are  there  white  men  here?"  to  which  Colonel  Dodge  replied,  and  asked 
his  name  ;  and  he  promptly  answered,  "  my  name  is  Matthew  Wright  Martin." 


72 

He  was  then  received  into  Colonel  Dodge's  arms ;  and  an  order  was  im 
mediately  given  for  the  Pawnee  and  Kiowa  girls  to  be  brought  forward  ;  they 
were  in  a  few  minutes  brought  into  the  council-house,  when  they  were  at 
once  recognized  by  their  friends  and  relatives,  who  embraced  them  with  the 
most  extravagant  expressions  of  joy  and  satisfaction.  The  heart  of  the 
venerable  old  chief  was  melted  at  this  evidence  of  white  man's  friendship, 
and  he  rose  upon  his  feet,  and  taking  Colonel  Dodge  in  his  arms,  and  placing 
his  left  cheek  against  the  left  cheek  of  the  Colonel,  held  him  for  some 
minutes  without  saying  a  word,  whilst  tears  were  flowing  from  his  eyes.  He 
then  embraced  each  officer  in  turn,  in  the  same  silent  and  affectionate  man 
ner  ;  which  form  took  half  an  hour  or  more,  before  it  was  completed.* 

"  From  this  moment  the  council,  which  before  had  been  a  very  grave  and 
uncertain  one,  took  a  pleasing  and  friendly  turn.  And  this  excellent  old 
man  ordered  the  women  to  supply  the  dragoons  with  something  to  eat,  as 
they  were  hungry. 

"  The  little  encampment,  which  heretofore  was  in  a  woeful  condition,  having 
eaten  up  their  last  rations  twelve  hours  before,  were  now  gladdened  by  the 
approach  of  a  number  of  women,  who  brought  their  "  back  loads"  of  dried 
buffalo  meat  and  green  corn,  and  threw  it  down  amongst  them.  This  seemed 
almost  like  a  providential  deliverance,  for  the  country  between  here  and  the 
Camanchees,  was  entirely  destitute  of  game,  and  our  last  provisions  were 
consumed. 

"  The  council  thus  proceeded  successfully  and  pleasantly  for  several  days, 
whilst  the  warriors  of  theKiowas  and  Wicos,  two  adjoining  and  friendly  tribes 
living  further  to  the  West,  were  arriving ;  and  also  a  great  many  from  other 
bands  of  the  Camanchees,  who  had  heard  of  our  arrival ;  until  two  thousand 
or  more  of  these  wild  and  fearless-looking  fellows  were  assembled,  and  all, 
from  their  horses'  backs,  with  weapons  in  hand,  were  looking  into  our  pitiful 
little  encampment,  of  two  hundred  men,  all  in  a  state  of  dependence  and 
almost  literal  starvation ;  and  at  the  same  time  nearly  one  half  the  number  too 

sick  to  have  made  a  successful  resistance  if  we  were  to  have  been  attacked." 

*********  ** 

The  command  returned  to  this  village  after  an  absence  of  fifteen  days,  in 
a  fatigued  and  destitute  condition,  with  scarcely  anything  to  eat,  or  chance 
of  getting  anything  here ;  in  consequence  of  which,  Colonel  Dodge  almost 
instantly  ordered  preparations  to  be  made  for  a  move  to  the  head  of  the 
Canadian  river,  a  distance  of  an  hundred  or  more  miles,  where  the  Indians 
represented  to  us  there  would  be  found  immense  herds  of  buffaloes  ;  a  place 
where  we  could  get  enough  to  eat,  and  by  lying  by  awhile,  could  restore 
the  sick,  who  are  now  occupying  a  great  number  of  litters.  Some  days  have 

The  little  boy  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  was  brought  in  the  whole  distance  to  Fort  Gibson, 
in  the  arms  of  the  dragoons,  who  took  turns  in  carrying  him ;  and  after  the  command 
arrived  there,  he  was  transmitted  to  the  Red  River,  by  an  officer,  who  had  the  enviable 
satisfaction  of  delivering  him  into  the  arms  of  his  disconsolate  and  half-distracted  mother. 


73 

elapsed,  however,  and  we  are  not  quite  ready  for  the  start  yet.  And  during 
that  time,  continual  parties  of  the  Pawnee  Picts  and  Kioways  have  come  up  ; 
and  also  Camanchees,  from  other  villages,  to  get  a  look  at  us,  and  many  of 
them  are  volunteering  to  go  in  with  us  to  the  frontier. 

The  world  who  know  me,  will  see  that  I  can  scarcely  be  idle  under  such 
circumstances  as  these,  where  so  many  subjects  for  my  brush  and  my  pen 
are  gathering  about  me. 

The  Pawnee  Picts,  Kioways,  and  Wicos  are  the  subjects  that  I  am  most 
closely  scanning  at  this  moment,  and  I  have  materials  enough  around  me. 

The  Pawnee  Picts  are  undoubtedly  a  numerous  and  powerful  tribe,  occu 
pying,  with  the  Kioways  and  Wicos,  the  whole  country  on  the  head  waters 
of  the  Red  River,  and  quite  into  and  through  the  southern  part  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  The  old  chief  told  me  by  signs,  enumerating  with  his  hands  and 
fingers,  that  they  had  altogether  three  thousand  warriors  ;  which  if  true,  esti 
mating  according  to  the  usual  rule,  one  warrior  to  four,  would  make  the 
whole  number  about  twelve  thousand  ;  and,  allowing  a  fair  per-centage  for 
boasting  or  bragging,  of  which  they  are  generally  a  little  guilty  in  such  cases, 
there  would  be  at  a  fair  calculation  from  eight  to  ten  thousand.  These  then, 
in  an  established  alliance  with  the  great  tribe  of  Camanchees,  hunting  and 
feasting  together,  and  ready  to  join  in  common  defence  of  their  country, 
become  a  very  formidable  enemy  when  attacked  on  their  own  ground. 

The  name  of  the  Pawnee  Picts,  we  find  to  be  in  their  own  language,  Tow- 
ee-ahge,  the  meaning  of  which  I  have  not  yet  learned.  I  have  ascertained  also, 
that  these  people  are  in  noway  related  to  the  Pawnees  of  the  Platte,  who  reside 
a  thousand  miles  or  more  North  of  them,  and  know  them  only  as  enemies. 
There  is  no  family  or  tribal  resemblance  ;  nor  any  in  their  language  or  cus 
toms.  The  Pawnees  of  the  Platte  shave  the  head,  and  the  Pawnee  Picts 
abominate  the  custom ;  allowing  their  hair  to  grow  like  the  Camanchees  and 
other  tribes. 

The  old  chief  of  the  Pawnee  Picts,  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken,  and 
whose  name  is  We-ta-ra-sha-ro  (PLATE  174),  is  undoubtedly  a  very  excel 
lent  and  kind-hearted  old  man,  of  ninety  or  more  years  of  age,  and  has  con 
sented  to  accompany  us,  with  a  large  party  of  his  people,  to  Fort  Gibson  ; 
where  Colonel  Dodge  has  promised  to  return  him  liberal  presents  from  the 
Government,  for  the  friendship  he  has  evinced  on  the  present  occasion. 

The  second  chief  of  this  tribe,  Sky-se-ro-ka  (PLATE  175),  we  found  to  be 
a  remarkably  clever  man,  and  much  approved  and  valued  in  his  tribe. 

The  Pawnee  Picts,  as  well  as  the  Camanchees,  are  generally  a  very  clumsy 
and  ordinary  looking  set  of  men,  when  on  their  feet ;  but  being  fine  horse 
men,  are  equally  improved  in  appearance  as  soon  as  they  mount  upon  their 
horses'  backs. 

Amongst  the  women  of  this  tribe,  there  were  many  that  were  exceedingly 
pretty  in  feature  and  in  form ;  and  also  in  expression,  though  their  skins 
are  very  dark.  The  dress  of  the  men  in  this  tribe,  as  amongst  the  Caman- 

VOL.    I!.  L 


74 

chees,  consists  generally  in  leggings  of  dressed  skins,  and  moccasins  ;  with  a 
flap  or  breech  clout,  made  also  of  dressed  skins  or  furs,  and  often  very 
beautifully  ornamented  with  shells,  &c.  Above  the  waist  they  seldom  wear 
any  drapery,  owing  to  the  warmth  of  the  climate,  which  will  rarely  justify 
it ;  and  their  heads  are  generally  uncovered  with  a  head-dress,  like  the 
Northern  tribes,  who  live  in  a  colder  climate,  and  actually  require  them  for 
comfort. 

The  women  of  the  Camanchees  and  Pawnee  Picts,  are  always  decently 
and  comfortably  clad,  being  covered  generally  with  a  gown  or  slip,  that 
reaches  from  the  chin  quite  down  to  the  ancles,  made  of  deer  or  elk  skins  ; 
often  garnished  very  prettily,  and  ornamented  with  long  fringes  of  elk's 
teeth,  which  are  fastened  on  them  in  rows,  and  more  highly  valued  than  any 
other  ornament  they  can  put  upon  them. 

In  PLATES  176  and  177,  I  have  given  the  portraits  of  two  Pawnee  girls, 
Kah-kee-tsee  (the  thighs),  and  She-de-a  (wild  sage),  the  two  Pawnee  women 
who  had  been  held  as  prisoners  by  the  Osages,  and  purchased  by  the  Indian 
Commissioner,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Schemmerhom,  and  brought  home  to  their 
own  people,  and  delivered  up  in  the  Pawnee  town,  in  the  manner  that  I  have 
just  described. 

The  Kioways  are  a  much  finer  looking  race  of  men,  than  either  the  Ca 
manchees  or  Pawnees — are  tall  and  erect,  with  an  easy  and  graceful  gait — 
with  long  hair,  cultivated  oftentimes  so  as  to  reach  nearly  to  the  ground. 
They  have  generally  the  fine  and  Roman  outline  of  head,  that  is  so  frequently 
found  at  the  North, — and  decidedly  distinct  from  that  of  the  Camanchees 
and  Pawnee  Picts.  These  men  speak  a  language  distinct  from  both  of  the 
others;  and  in  fact,  the  Camanchees  and  Pawnee  Picts — and  Kioways,  and 
Wicos,  are  all  so  distinctly  different  in  their  languages,  as  to  appear  in  that 
respect  as  total  strangers  to  each  other.* 

The  head  chief  of  the  Kioways,  whose  name  isTeh-toot-sah  (PLATE  178), 
we  found  to  be  a  very  gentlemanly  and  high  minded  man,  who  treated  the 
dragoons  and  officers  with  great  kindness  while  in  his  country.  His  long 
hair,  which  was  put  up  in  several  large  clubs,  and  ornamented  with  a  great 
many  silver  broaches,  extended  quite  down  to  his  knees.  This  distinguished 
man,  as  well  as  several  others  of  his  tribe,  have  agreed  to  join  us  on  the  march 
to  Fort  Gibson ;  so  I  shall  have  much  of  their  company  yet,  and  probably 
much  more  to  say  of  them  at  a  future  period.  Bon-son-gee  (the  new  fire, 
PLATE  179)  is  another  chief  of  this  tribe,  and  called  a  very  good  man  ;  the 
principal  ornaments  which  he  carried  on  his  person  were  a  boar's  tusk  and 
his  war-whistle,  which  were  hanging  on  his  breast. 

*  I  have  several  times,  in  former  parts  of  this  work,  spoken  of  the  great  number  of  dif 
ferent  Indian  languages  which  I  have  visited,  and  given  my  opinion,  as  to  the  dissimilarity 
and  distinctness  of  their  character.  And  would  refer  the  reader  for  further  information 
on  this  subject,  as  well  as  for  a  vocabulary  of  several  languages,  to  the  Appendix  to  this 
Volume,  letter  B. 


75 

Quay-ham-kay  (the  stone  shell,  PLATE  180),  is  another  fair  specimen  of 
the  warriors  of  this  tribe ;  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  somewhat  allied  to  the  mys 
teries  and  arcana  of  the  healing  art,  from  the  close  company  he  keeps  with 
my  friend  Dr.  Findley,  who  is  surgeon  to  the  regiment,  and  by  whom  I  have 
been  employed  to  make  a  copy  of  my  portrait  of  this  distinguished  personage. 

In  PLATE  181,  Wun-pan-to-mee  (the  white  weasel),  a  girl ;  and  Tunk- 
aht-oh-ye  (the  thunderer),  a  boy  ;  who  are  brother  and  sister,  are  two  Kio- 
ways  who  were  purchased  from  the  Osages,  to  be  taken  to  their  tribe  by  the 
dragoons.  The  girl  was  taken  the  whole  distance  with  us,  on  horseback,  to  the 
Pawnee  village, and  there  delivered  to  her  friends,  as  I  have  before  mentioned; 
and  the  fine  little  boy  was  killed  at  the  Fur  Trader's  house  on  the  banks  of 
the  Verdigris,  near  Fort  Gibson,  the  day  after  I  painted  his  portrait,  and 
only  a  few  days  before  he  was  to  have  started  with  us  on  the  march.  He 
was  a  beautiful  boy  of  nine  or  ten  years  of  age,  and  was  killed  by  a  ram, 
which  struck  him  in  the  abdomen,  and  knocking  him  against  a  fence,  killed 
him  instantly. 

Kots-a-to-ah  (the  smoked  shield,  PLATE  182),  is  another  of  the  extra 
ordinary  men  of  this  tribe,  near  seven  feet  in  stature,  and  distinguished,  not 
only  as  one  of  the  greatest  warriors,  but  the  swiftest  on  foot,  in  the  nation. 
This  man,  it  is  said,  runs  down  a  buffalo  on  foot,  and  slays  it  with  his  knife 
or  his  lance,  as  he  runs  by  its  side  ! 

In  PLATE  183,  is  the  portrait  of  Ush-ee-kitz  (he  who  fights  with  a  feather), 
head  chief  of  the  Wi-co  tribe,  a  very  polite  and  polished  Indian,  in  his  man 
ners,  and  remarkable  for  his  mode  of  embracing  the  officers  and  others  in 
council. 

In  the  different  talks  and  councils  that  we  have  had  with  these  people, 
this  man  has  been  a  conspicuous  speaker ;  and  always,  at  the  end  of  his 
speeches,  has  been  in  the  habit  of  stepping  forward  and  embracing  friends 
and  foes,  all  that  were  about  him,  taking  each  one  in  turn,  closely  and  affec 
tionately  in  his  arms,  with  his  left  cheek  against  theirs,  and  thus  holding  them 
tightly  for  several  minutes. 

All  the  above  chiefs  and  braves,  and  many  others,  forming  a  very  pic 
turesque  cavalcade,  will  move  off  with  us  in  a  day  or  two,  on  our  way  back 
to  Fort  Gibson,  where  it  is  to  be  hoped  we  may  arrive  more  happy  than  we 
are  in  our  present  jaded  and  sickly  condition. 


L2 


76 


LETTER— No.  44. 


CAMP  CANADIAN,  TEXAS. 

Six  days  of  severe  travelling  have  brought  us  from  the  Camauchee  vil 
lage  to  the  North  bank  of  the  Canadian,  where  we  are  snugly  encamped  on 
a  beautiful  plain,  and  in  the  midst  of  countless  numbers  of  buffaloes  ;  and 
halting  a  few  days  to  recruit  our  horses  and  men,  and  dry  meat  to  last  us 
the  remainder  of  our  journey. 

The  plains  around  this,  for  many  miles,  seem  actually  speckled  in  dis 
tance,  and  in  every  direction,  with  herds  of  grazing  buffaloes ;  and  for 
several  days,  the  officers  and  men  have  been  indulged  in  a  general  licence 
to  gratify  their  sporting  propensities ;  and  a  scene  of  bustle  and  cruel 
slaughter  it  has  been,  to  be  sure  !  From  morning  till  night,  the  camp  has 
been  daily  almost  deserted ;  the  men  have  dispersed  in  little  squads  in  all 
directions,  and  are  dealing  death  to  these  poor  creatures  to  a  most  cruel 
and  wanton  extent,  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  destroying,  generally  without 
stopping  to  cut  out  the  meat.  During  yesterday  and  this  day,  several  hun 
dreds  have  undoubtedly  been  killed,  and  not  so  much  as  the  flesh  of  half 
a  dozen  used.  Such  immense  swarms  of  them  are  spread  over  this  tract  of 
country ;  and  so  divided  and  terrified  have  they  become,  finding  their  ene 
mies  in  all  directions  where  they  run,  that  the  poor  beasts  seem  completely 
bewildered — running  here  and  there,  and  as  often  as  otherwise,  come  singly 
advancing  to  the  horsemen,  as  if  to  join  them  for  their  company,  and  are 
easily  shot  down.  In  the  turmoil  and  confusion,  when  their  assailants 
have  been  pushing  them  forward,  they  have  galloped  through  our  encamp 
ment,  jumping  over  our  fires,  upsetting  pots  and  kettles,  driving  horses 
from  their  fastenings,  and  throwing  the  whole  encampment  into  the  greatest 
instant  consternation  and  alarm.  The  hunting  fever  will  be  satiated  in  a 
few  days  amongst  the  young  men,  who  are  well  enough  to  take  parts  in  the 
chase ;  and  the  bilious  fever,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  be  abated  in  a  short 
time,  amongst  those  who  are  invalid,  and  meat  enough  will  be  dried  to  last 
us  to  Fort  Gibson,  when  we  shall  be  on  the  march  again,  and  wending 
our  way  towards  that  garrison. 

Many  are  now  sick  and  unable  to  ride,  and  are  carried  on  litters  between 
two  horses.  Nearly  every  tent  belonging  to  the  officers  has  been  converted  to 
hospitals  for  the  sick  ;  and  sighs  and  groaning  are  heard  in  all  directions. 


77 

From  the  Camanchee  village  to  this  place,  the  country  has  been  entirely 
prairie  ;  and  most  of  the  way  high  and  dry  ground,  without  water,  for  which 
we  sometimes  suffered  very  much.  From  day  to  day  we  have  dragged  along 
exposed  to  the  hot  and  burning  rays  of  the  sun,  without  a  cloud  to  relieve 
its  intensity,  or  a  bush  to  shade  us,  or  anything  to  cast  a  shadow,  ex 
cept  the  bodies  of  our  horses.  The  grass  for  a  great  part  of  the  way,  was 
very  much  dried  up,  scarcely  affording  a  bite  for  our  horses ;  and  some 
times  for  the  distance  of  many  miles,  the  only  water  we  could  find,  was  in 
stagnant  pools,  lying  on  the  highest  ground,  in  which  the  buffaloes  have 
been  lying  and  wallowing  like  hogs  in  a  mud-puddle.  We  frequently  came 
to  these  dirty  lavers,  from  which  we  drove  the  herds  of  wallowing  buffaloes, 
and  into  which  our  poor  and  almost  dying  horses,  irresistibly  ran  and 
plunged  their  noses,  sucking  up  the  dirty  and  poisonous  draught,  until,  in 
some  instances,  they  fell  dead  in  their  tracks — the  men  also  (and  oftentimes 
amongst  the  number,  the  writer  of  these  lines)  sprang  from  their  horses,  and 
laded  up  and  drank  to  almost  fatal  excess,  the  disgusting  and  tepid  draught, 
and  with  it  filled  their  canteens,  which  were  slung  to  their  sides,  and  from 
which  they  were  sucking  the  bilious  contents  during  the  day. 

In  our  march  we  found  many  deep  ravines,  in  the  bottoms  of  which  there 
were  the  marks  of  wild  and  powerful  streams  ;  but  in  this  season  of  drought 
they  were  all  dried  up,  except  an  occasional  one,  where  we  found  them 
dashing  along  in  the  coolest  and  clearest  manner,  and  on  trial,  to  our  great 
agony,  so  salt  that  even  our  horses  could  not  drink  from  them  ;  so  we 
had  occasionally  the  tantalizing  pleasure  of  hearing  the  roar  of,  and  looking 
into,  the  clearest  and  most  sparkling  streams  ;  and  after  that  the  dire  neces 
sity  of  drinking  from  stagnant  pools  which  lay  from  month  to  month 
exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun,  till  their  waters  become  so  poisonous  and 
heavy,  from  the  loss  of  their  vital  principle,  that  they  are  neither  diminished 
by  absorption,  or  taken  into  the  atmosphere  by  evaporation. 

This  poisonous  and  indigestible  water,  with  the  intense  rays  of  the  sun  in 
the  hottest  part  of  the  summer,  is  the  cause  of  the  unexampled  sickness  of 
the  horses  and  men.  Both  appear  to  be  suffering  and  dying  with  the  same 
disease,  a  slow  and  distressing  bilious  fever,  which  seems  to  terminate  in  a 
most  frightful  and  fatal  affection  of  the  liver. 

In  these  several  cruel  days'  march,  I  have  suffered  severely,  having  had 
all  the  time  (and  having  yet)  a  distracting  fever  on  me.  My  real  friend, 
Joe,  has  constantly  rode  by  my  side,  dismounting  and  filling  my  canteen  for 
me,  and  picking  up  minerals  or  fossils,  which  my  jaundiced  eyes  were  able 
to  discover  as  we  were  passing  over  them ;  or  doing  other  kind  offices  for 
me,  when  I  was  too  weak  to  mount  my  horse  without  aid.  During  this 
march  over  these  dry  and  parched  plains,  we  picked  up  many  curious  things 
of  the  fossil  and  mineral  kind,  and  besides  them  a  number  of  the  horned 
frogs.  In  our  portmanteaux  we  had  a  number  of  tin  boxes  in  which  we  had 
carried  Seidlitz  powders,  in  which  we  caged  a  number  of  them  safely,  in 


78 

hopes  to  carry  them  home  alive.  Several  remarkable  specimens  my  friend 
Joe  has  secured  of  these,  with  the  horns  of  half  and  three-fourths  of  an  inch 
in  length,  and  very  sharp  at  the  points. 

These  curious  subjects  have  so  often  fallen  under  my  eye  while  on  the 
Upper  Missouri,  that  with  me,  they  have  lost  their  novelty  in  a  great  degree; 
but  they  have  amused  and  astonished  my  friend  Chadwick  so  much,  that 
he  declares  he  will  take  every  one  he  can  pick  up,  and  make  a  sensation 
with  them  when  he  gets  home.  In  this  way  Joe's  fancy  for  horned  frogs 
has  grown  into  a  sort  of  frog -mania,  and  his  eyes  are  strained  all  day,  and 
gazing  amongst  the  grass  and  pebbles  as  he  rides  along,  for  his  precious 
little  prizes,  which  he  occasionally  picks  up  and  consigns  to  his  pockets.* 

On  one  of  these  hard  day's  march,  and  just  at  night,  whilst  we  were 
looking  out  for  water,  and  a  suitable  place  to  encamp,  Joe  and  I  galloped 
off  a  mile  or  two  to  the  right  of  the  regiment,  to  a  point  of  timber,  to  look 
for  water,  where  we  found  a  small  and  sunken  stagnant  pool ;  and  as  our 
horses  plunged  their  feet  into  it  to  drink,  we  saw  to  our  great  surprise,  a 
number  of  frogs  hopping  across  its  surface,  as  our  horses  started  them  from 
the  shore  !  Several  of  them  stopped  in  the  middle  of  the  pool,  sitting 
quite  '*  high  and  dry"  on  the  surface  of  the  water ;  and  when  we  approached 
them  nearer,  or  jostled  them,  they  made  a  leap  into  the  air,  and  coming 
down  head  foremost — went  under  the  water  and  secreted  themselves  at  the 
bottom.  Here  was  a  subject  for  Joe,  in  his  own  line  !  frogs  with  horns,  and 
frogs  with  webbed  feet,  that  could  hop  about,  and  sit  upon,  the  surface  of 
the  water  !  We  rode  around  the  pool  and  drove  a  number  of  them  into  it, 
and  fearing  that  it  would  be  useless  to  try  to  get  one  of  them  that  evening ; 
we  rode  back  to  the  encampment,  exulting  very  much  in  the  curious  dis 
covery  we  had  made  for  the  naturalists ;  and  by  relating  to  some  of  the 
officers  what  we  had  seen,  got  excessively  laughed  at  for  our  wonderful 
discovery  !  Nevertheless,  Joe  and  I  could  not  disbelieve  what  we  had  seen 
so  distinctly  "  with  our  own  eyes  ;"  and  we  took  to  ourselves  (or  in  other 
words,  I  acquiesced  in  Joe's  taking  to  himself,  as  it  was  so  peculiarly  in 
his  line)  the  most  unequivocal  satisfaction  in  the  curious  and  undoubted 
discovery  of  this  new  variety ;  and  we  made  our  arrangements  to  ride  back 
to  the  spot  before  "  bugle  call"  in  the  morning  ;  and  by  a  thorough  effort,  to 
obtain  a  specimen  or  two  of  the  web-footed  frogs  for  Joe's  pocket,  to  be  by 
him  introduced  to  the  consideration  of  the  knowing  ones  in  the  East.  Well, 
our  horses  were  saddled  at  an  early  hour,  and  Joe  and  I  were  soon  on  the 
spot — and  he  with  a  handkerchief  at  the  end  of  a  little  pole,  with  which  he 
had  made  a  sort  of  scoop-net,  soon  dipped  one  up  as  it  was  hopping  along 
on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  making  unsuccessful  efforts  to  dive  through 
its  surface.  On  examining  its  feet,  we  found,  to  our  very  great  surprise, 

Several  months  after  this,  when  I  visited  my  friend  Joe's  room  in  St.  Louis,  he 
shewed  me  his  horned  frogs  in  their  little  tin  hoxes,  in  good  flesh  and  good  condition, 
where  they  had  existed  several  months,  without  food  of  any  kind. 


79 

that  we  had  taken  a  great,  deal  of  pains  to  entrap  an  old  and  familiar 
little  acquaintance  of  our  boyhood  ;  but,  somewhat  like  ourselves,  unfortu 
nately,  from  dire  necessity,  driven  to  a  loathsome  pool,  where  the  water  was 
so  foul  and  slimy,  that  it  could  hop  and  dance  about  its  surface  with  dry 
feet ;  and  where  it  oftentimes  found  difficulty  in  diving  through  the  sur 
face  to  hide  itself  at  the  bottom. 

I  laughed  a  great  deal  at  poor  Joe's  most  cruel  expense,  and  we  amused 
ourselves  a  few  minutes  about  this  filthy  and  curious  pool,  and  rode  back 
to  the  encampment.  We  found  by  taking  the  water  up  in  the  hollow  of  the 
hand,  and  dipping  the  finger  in  it,  and  drawing  it  over  the  side,  thus  con 
ducting  a  little  of  it  out ;  it  was  so  slimy  that  the  whole  would  run  over  the 
side  of  the  hand  in  a  moment ! 

We  were  joked  and  teased  a  great  deal  about  our  web-footed  frogs ;  and 
after  this,  poor  Joe  has  had  repeatedly  to  take  out  and  exhibit  his  little 
pets  in  his  pockets,  to  convince  our  travelling  companions  that  frogs  some 
times  actually  have  horns. 

Since  writing  the  above,  an  express  has  arrived  from  the  encampment, 
which  we  left  at  the  mouth  of  False  Washita,  with  the  melancholy  tidings 
of  the  death  of  General  Leavenworth,  Lieutenant  M'Clure,  and  ten  or 
fifteen  of  the  men  left  at  that  place  !  This  has  cast  a  gloom  over  our  little 
encampment  here,  and  seems  to  be  received  as  a  fatal  foreboding  by  those 
who  are  sick  with  the  same  disease ;  and  many  of  them,  poor  fellows,  with 
scarce  a  hope  left  now  for  their  recovery. 

It  seems  that  the  General  had  moved  on  our  trail  a  few  days  after  we 
left  the  Washita,  to  the  "  Cross  Timbers,"  a  distance  of  fifty  or  sixty  miles, 
where  his  disease  at  last  terminated  his  existence ;  and  I  am  inclined  to 
think,  as  I  before  mentioned,  in  consequence  of  the  injury  he  sustained  in  a 
fall  from  his  horse  when  running  a  buffalo  calf.  My  reason  for  believing 
this,  is,  that  I  rode  and  ate  with  him  every  day  after  the  hour  of  his  fall ; 
and  from  that  moment  I  was  quite  sure  that  I  saw  a  different  expression  in 
his  face,  from  that  which  he  naturally  wore  ;  and  when  riding  by  the  side  of 
him  two  or  three  days  after  his  fall,  I  observed  to  him,  "  General,  you  have 
a  very  bad  cough" — "  Yes,"  he  replied,  "  I  have  killed  myself  in  running 
that  devilish  calf ;  and  it  was  a  very  lucky  thing,  Catlin,  that  you  painted 
the  portrait  of  me  before  we  started,  for  it  is  all  that  my  dear  wife  will  ever 
see  of  me." 

We  shall  be  on  the  move  again  in  a  few  days ;  and  I  plainly  see  that  I 
shall  be  upon  a  litter,  unless  my  horrid  fever  leaves  me,  which  is  daily  taking 
away  my  strength,  and  almost,  at  times,  my  senses.  Adieu  ! 


80 


LETTER-No.  45. 


FORT  GIBSON,   ARKANSAS. 

THE  last  Letter  was  written  from  my  tent,  and  out  upon  the  wild  prairies, 
when  I  was  shaken  and  terrified  by  a  burning  fever,  with  home  and  my  dear 
wife  and  little  one,  two  thousand  miles  ahead  of  me,  whom  I  was  despair 
ing  of  ever  embracing  again.  I  am  now  scarcely  better  off,  except  that  I 
am  in  comfortable  quarters,  with  kind  attendance,  and  friends  about  me. 
I  am  yet  sick  and  very  feeble,  having  been  for  several  weeks  upon  my  back 
since  I  was  brought  in  from  the  prairies.  I  am  slowly  recovering,  and  for 
the  first  time  since  I  wrote  from  the  Canadian,  able  to  use  my  pen  or  my 
brush. 

We  drew  off  from  that  slaughtering  ground  a  few  days  after  my  last 
Letter  was  written,  with  a  great  number  sick,  carried  upon  litters — with 
horses  giving  out  and  dying  by  the  way,  which  much  impeded  our  progress 
over  the  long  and  tedious  route  that  laid  between  us  and  Fort  Gibson.  Fif 
teen  days,  however,  of  constant  toil  and  fatigue  brought  us  here,  but  in  a 
most  crippled  condition.  Many  of  the  sick  Were  left  by  the  way  with  atten 
dants  to  take  care  of  them,  others  were  buried  from  their  litters  on  which 
they  breathed  their  last  while  travelling,  and  many  others  were  brought  in, 
to  this  place,  merely  to  die  and  get  the  privilege  of  a  decent  burial. 

Since  the  very  day  of  our  start  into  that  country,  the  men  have  been  con 
stantly  falling  sick,  and  on  their  return,  of  those  who  are  alive,  there  are  not 
well  ones  enough  to  take  care  of  the  sick.  Many  are  yet  left  out  upon  the 
prairies,  and  of  those  that  have  been  brought  in,  and  quartered  in  the  hospital, 
with  the  soldiers  of  the  infantry  regiment  stationed  here,  four  or  five  are 
buried  daily ;  and  as  an  equal  number  from  the  9th  regiment  are  falling  by 
the  same  disease,  I  have  the  mournful  sound  of  "  Roslin  Castle"  with 
muffled  drums,  passing  six  or  eight  times  a-day  under  my  window,  to  the 
burying-ground  ;  which  is  but  a  little  distance  in  front  of  my  room,  where  I 
can  lay  in  my  bed  and  see  every  poor  fellow  lowered  down  into  his  silent 
and  peaceful  habitation.  During  the  day  before  yesterday,  no  less  than  eight 
solemn  processions  visited  that  insatiable  ground,  and  amongst  them  was 
carried  the  corpse  of  my  intimate  and  much-loved  friend  Lieutenant  West, 
who  was  aid-de-camp  to  General  Leavenworth,  on  this  disastrous  campaign, 
and  who  has  left  in  this  place,  a  worthy  and  distracted  widow,  with  her  little 


81 

ones  to  mourn  for  his  untimely  end.  On  the  same  day  was  buried  also  the 
Prussian  Botanist,  a  most  excellent  and  scientific  gentleman,  who  had  ob 
tained  an  order  from  the  Secretary  at  War  to  accompany  the  expedition  for 
scientific  purposes.  He  had  at  St.  Louis,  purchased  a  very  comfortable 
dearborn  waggon,  and  a  snug  span  of  little  horses  to  convey  himself  and  his 
servant  with  his  collection  of  plants,  over  the  prairies.  In  this  he  travelled 
in  company  with  the  regiment  from  St.  Louis  to  Fort  Gibson,  some  five  or 
six  hundred  miles,  and  from  that  to  the  False  Washita,  and  the  Cross  Tim 
bers  and  back  again.  In  this  Tour  he  had  made  an  immense,  and  no  doubt, 
very  valuable  collection  of  plants,  and  at  this  place  had  been  for  some  weeks 
indefatigably  engaged  in  changing  and  drying  them,  and  at  last,  fell  a 
victim  to  the  disease  of  the  country,  which  seemed  to  have  made  an  easy 
conquest  of  him,  from  the  very  feeble  and  enervated  state  he  was  evidently 
in,  that  of  pulmonary  consumption.  This  fine,  gentlemanly  and  urbane, 
excellent  man,  to  whom  I  became  very  much  attached,  was  lodged  in  a  room 
adjoining  to  mine,  where  he  died,  as  he  had  lived,  peaceably  and  smiling,  and 
that  when  nobody  knew  that  hislife  was  in  immediate  danger.  The  surgeon  who 
was  attending  me,  (Dr.  Wright,)  was  sitting  on  my  bed-side  in  his  morning- 
call  at  my  room,  when  a  negro  boy,  who  alone  had  been  left  in  the  room 
with  him,  came  into  my  apartment  and  said  Mr.  Bey  rich  was  dying — we  in 
stantly  stepped  into  his  room  and  found  him,  not  in  the  agonies  of  death,  but 
quietly  breathing  his  last,  without  a  word  or  a  struggle,  as  he  had  laid  himself 
upon  his  bed  with  his  clothes  and  his  boots  on.  In  this  way  perished  this 
worthy  man,  who  had  no  one  here  of  kindred  friends  to  drop  tears  for  him  ; 
and  on  the  day  previous  to  his  misfortune,  died  also,  and  much  in  the  same 
way,  his  devoted  and  faithful  servant,  a  young  man,  a  native  of  Germany. 
Their  bodies  were  buried  by  the  side  of  each  other,  and  a  general  feeling  of 
deep  grief  was  manifested  by  the  officers  and  citizens  of  the  post,  in  the 
respect  that  was  paid  to  their  remains  in  the  appropriate  and  decent  com 
mittal  of  them  to  the  grave. 

After  leaving  the  head  waters  of  the  Canadian,  my  illness  continually  in 
creased,  and  losing  strength  every  day,  I  soon  got  so  reduced  that  I  was  neces 
sarily  lifted  on  to  and  off  from,  my  horse ;  and  at  last,  so  that  I  could  not  ride 
at  all.  I  was  then  put  into  a  baggage-waggon  which  was  going  back  empty, 
except  with  several  soldiers  sick,  and  in  this  condition  rode  eight  days,  most 
of  the  time  in  a  delirious  state,  lying  on  the  hard  planks  of  the  waggon,  and 
made  still  harder  by  the  jarring  and  jolting,  until  the  skin  from  my  elbows  and 
knees  was  literally  worn  through,  and  I  almost  "  worn  out ;"  when  we  at 
length  reached  this  post,  and  I  was  taken  to  a  bed,  in  comfortable  quarters, 
where  I  have  had  the  skilful  attendance  of  my  friend  and  old  schoolmate 
Dr.  Wright,  under  whose  hands,  thank  God,  I  have  been  restored,  and  am 
now  daily  recovering  my  flesh  and  usual  strength. 

The  experiment  has  thus  been  made,  of  sending  an  army  of  men  from  the 
North,  into  this  Southern  and  warm  climate,  in  the  hottest  months  of  the 

vox,,  n.  M 


82 

year,  of  July  and  August ;  and  from  this  sad  experiment  I  am  sure  a  secret 
will  be  learned  that  will  be  of  value  on  future  occasions. 

Of  the  450  fine  fellows  who  started  from  this  place  four  months  since, 
about  one-third  have  already  died,  and  I  believe  many  more  there  are  whose 
fates  are  sealed,  and  will  yet  fall  victims  to  the  deadly  diseases  contracted 
in  that  fatal  country.  About  this  post  it  seems  to  be  almost  equally  un 
healthy,  and  generally  so  during  this  season,  all  over  this  region,  which  is 
probably  owing  to  an  unusual  drought  which  has  been  visited  on  the  country, 
and  unknown  heretofore  to  the  oldest  inhabitants. 

Since  we  came  in  from  the  prairies,  and  the  sickness  has  a  little  abated, 
we  have  had  a  bustling  time  with  the  Indians  at  this  place.  Colonel  Dodge 
sent  runners  to  the  chiefs  of  all  the  contiguous  tribes  of  Indians,  with  an 
invitation  to  meet  the  Pawnees,  &c.  in  council,  at  this  place.  Seven  or 
eight  tribes  flocked  to  us,  in  great  numbers  on  the  first  day  of  the  month, 
when  the  council  commenced  ;  it  continued  for  several  days,  and  gave  these 
semi-civilized  sons  of  the  forest  a  fair  opportunity  of  shaking  the  hands  of 
their  wild  and  untamed  red  brethren  of  the  West — of  embracing  them  in 
their  arms,  with  expressions  of  friendship,  and  of  smoking  the  calumet  to 
gether,  as  the  solemn  pledge  of  lasting  peace  and  friendship. 

Colonel  Dodge,  Major  Armstrong  (the  Indian  agent),  and  General  Stokes 
(the  Indian  commissioner),  presided  at  this  council,  and  I  cannot  name  a 
scene  more  interesting  and  entertaining  than  it  was ;  where,  for  several  days  in 
succession,  free  vent  was  given  to  the  feelings  of  men  civilized,  half -civilized, 
and  wild ;  where  the  three  stages  of  man  were  fearlessly  asserting  their  rights, 
their  happiness,  and  friendship  for  each  other.  The  vain  orations  of  the  half- 
polished  (and  half-breed)  Cherokees  and  Choctaws,  with  all  their  finery  and  art, 
found  their  match  in  the  brief  and  jarring  gutturals  of  the  wild  and  naked  man. 

After  the  council  had  adjourned,  and  the  fumes  of  the  peace-making 
calumet  had  vanished  away,  and  Colonel  Dodge  had  made  them  additional 
presents,  they  soon  made  preparations  for  their  departure,  and  on  the  next 
day  started,  with  an  escort  of  dragoons,  for  their  own  country.  This  move 
ment  is  much  to  be  regretted  ;  for  it  would  have  been  exceedingly  gratifying 
to  the  people  of  the  East  to  have  seen  so  wild  a  group,  and  it  would  have 
been  of  great  service  to  them  to  have  visited  Washington — a  journey,  though, 
which  they  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  make. 

We  brought  with  us  to  this  place,  three  of  the  principal  chiefs  of  the 
Pawnees,  fifteen  Kioways,  one  Camanchee,  and  one  Wico  chief.  The  group 
was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  interesting  that  ever  visited  our  frontier ; 
and,  I  have  taken  the  utmost  pains  in  painting  the  portraits  of  all  of  them, 
as  well  as  seven  of  the  Camanchee  chiefs,  who  came  part  of  the  way  with 
us,  and  turned  back.  These  portraits,  together  with  other  paintings  which 
I  have  made,  descriptive  of  their  manners  and  customs — views  of  their  vil 
lages — landscapes  of  the  country,  &c.,  will  soon  be  laid  before  the  amateurs 
ot  the  East,  and,  I  trust,  will  be  found  to  be  very  interesting. 


83 

Although  the  achievement  has  been  a  handsome  one,  of  bringing  these 
unknown  people  to  an  acquaintance,  and  a  general  peace  ;  and  at  first  sight 
would  appear  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  them — yet  I  have  my  strong  doubts, 
whether  it  will  better  their  condition,  unless  with  the  exercised  aid  of  the 
strong  arm  of  Government,  they  can  be  protected  in  the  rights  which,  by 
nature,  they  are  entitled  to. 

There  is  already  in  this  place  a  company  of  eighty  men  fitted  out,  who 
are  to  start  to-morrow,  to  overtake  these  Indians  a  few  miles  from  this  place, 
and  accompany  them  home,  with  a  large  stock  of  goods,  with  traps  for 
catching  beavers,  &c.,  calculating  to  build  a  trading-house  amongst  them, 
where  they  will  amass,  at  once,  an  immense  fortune,  being  the  first  traders 
and  trappers  that  have  ever  been  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

I  have  travelled  too  much  among  Indian  tribes,  and  seen  too  much,  not 
to  know  the  evil  consequences  of  such  a  system.  Goods  are  sold  at  such 
exorbitant  prices,  that  the  Indian  gets  a  mere  shadow  for  his  peltries,  &c. 
The  Indians  see  no  white  people  but  traders  and  sellers  of  whiskey  ;  and  of 
course,  judge  us  all  by  them — they  consequently  hold  us,  and  always  will, 
in  contempt;  as  inferior  to  themselves,  as  they  have  reason  to  do — and  they 
neither  fear  nor  respect  us.  When,  on  the  contrary,  if  the  Government 
would  promptly  prohibit  such  establishments,  and  invite  these  Indians  to  our 
frontier  posts,  they  would  bring  in  their  furs,  their  robes,  horses,  mules,  &c., 
to  this  place,  where  there  is  a  good  market  for  them  all — where  they  would 
get  the  full  value  of  their  property — where  there  are  several  stores  of  goods 
— where  there  is  an  honourable  competition,  and  where  they  would  get  four 
or  five  times  as  much  for  their  articles  of  trade,  as  they  would  get  from  a 
trader  in  the  village,  out  of  the  reach  of  competition,  and  out  of  sight  of  the 
civilized  world. 

At  the  same  time,  as  they  would  be  continually  coming  where  they  \vould 
see  good  and  polished  society,  they  would  be  gradually  adopting  our  modes 
of  living — introducing  to  their  country  our  vegetables,  our  domestic  animals, 
poultry,  &c.,  and  at  length,  our  arts  and  manufactures ;  they  would  see 
and  estimate  our  military  strength,  and  advantages,  and  would  be  led  to 
fear  and  respect  us.  In  short,  it  would  undoubtedly  be  the  quickest  and 
surest  way  to  a  general  acquaintance — to  friendship  and  peace,  and  at  last 
to  civilization.  If  there  is  a  law  in  existence  for  such  protection  of  the 
Indian  tribes,  which  may  have  been  waived  in  the  case  of  those  nations 
with  which  we  have  long  traded,  it  is  a  great  pity  that  it  should  not  be 
rigidly  enforced  in  this  new  and  important  acquaintance,  which  we  have 
just  made  with  thirty  or  forty  thousand  strangers  to  the  civilized  world ; 
yet  (as  we  have  learned  from  their  unaffected  hospitality  when  in  their 
villages),  with  hearts  of  human  mould,  susceptible  of  all  the  noble  feelings 
belonging  to  civilized  man. 

This  acquaintance  has  cost  the  United  States  a  vast  sum  of  money,  as 
well  as  the  lives  of  several  valuable  and  esteemed  officers,  and  more  than 


84 

100  of  the  dragoons;  and  for  the  honour  of  the  American  name,  I  think  we 
ought,  in  forming  an  acquaintance  with  these  numerous  tribes,  to  adopt  and 
enforce  some  different  system  from  that 'which  has  been  generally  practiced 
on  and  beyond  our  frontiers  heretofore. 

What  the  regiment  of  dragoons  has  suffered  from  sickness  since  they 
started  on  their  summer's  campaign  is  unexampled  in  this  country,  and 
almost  incredible. — When  we  started  from  this  place,  ten  or  fifteen  were 
sent  back  the  first  day,  too  sick  to  proceed  ;  and  so  afterwards  our  numbers 
were  daily  diminished,  and  at  the  distance  of  200  miles  from  this  place  we 
could  muster,  out  of  the  whole  regiment,  but  250  men  who  were  able  to 
proceed,  with  which  little  band,  and  that  again  reduced  some  sixty  or 
seventy  by  sickness,  we  pushed  on,  and  accomplished  all  that  was  done. 
The  beautiful  and  pictured  scenes  which  we  passed  over  had  an  alluring 
charm  on  their  surface,  but  (as  it  would  seem)  a  lurking  poison  within,  that 
spread  a  gloom  about  our  encampment  whenever  we  pitched  it. 

We  sometimes  rode  day  after  day,  without  a  tree  to  shade  us  from  the 
burning  rays  of  a  tropical  sun,  or  a  breath  of  wind  to  regale  us  or  cheer  our 
hearts — and  with  mouths  continually  parched  with  thirst,  we  dipped  our 
drink  from  stagnant  pools  that  were  heated  by  the  sun,  and  kept  in  fermen 
tation  by  the  wallowing  herds  of  buffaloes  that  resort  to  them.  In  this  way 
we  dragged  on,  sometimes  passing  picturesque  and  broken  country,  with 
fine  springs  and  streams,  affording  us  the  luxury  of  a  refreshing  shade  and 
a  cool  draught  of  water. 

Thus  was  dragged  through  and  completed  this  most  disastrous  campaign  ; 
and  to  Colonel  Dodge  and  Colonel  Kearny,  who  so  indefatigably  led  and 
encouraged  their  men  through  it,  too  much  praise  cannot  be  awarded. 

During  my  illness  while  I  have  been  at  this  post,  my  friend  Joe  has  been 
almost  constantly  by  my  bedside ;  evincing  (as  he  did  when  we  were  creep 
ing  over  the  vast  prairies)  the  most  sincere  and  intense  anxiety  for  my  reco 
very  ;  whilst  he  has  administered,  like  a  brother,  every  aid  and  every  comfort 
that  lay  in  his  power  to  bring.  Such  tried  friendship  as  this,  I  shall  ever 
recollect ;  and  it  will  long  hence  and  often,  lead  my  mind  back  to  retrace,  at 
least,  the  first  part  of  our  campaign,  which  was  full  pleasant ;  and  many  of 
its  incidents  have  formed  pleasing  impressions  on  my  memory,  which  I  would 
preserve  to  the  end  of  my  life. 

When  we  started,  we  were  fresh  and  ardent  for  the  incidents  that  were 
before  us— our  little  packhorse  carried  our  bedding  and  culinary  articles  ; 
amongst  which  we  had  a  coffee-pot  and  a  frying-pan — coffee  in  good  store, 
and  sugar — and  wherever  we  spread  our  bear-skin,  and  kindled  our  fire  in 
the  grass,  we  were  sure  to  take  by  ourselves,  a  delightful  repast,  and  a  refresh 
ing  sleep.  During  the  march,  as  we  were  subject  to  no  military  subordination, 
we  galloped  about  wherever  we  were  disposed,  popping  away  at  whatever 
we  chose  to  spend  ammunition  upon — and  running  our  noses  into  every  wild 
nook  and  crevice,  as  we  saw  fit.  In  this  way  we  travelled  happily,  until 


85 

our  coffee  was  gone,  and  our  bread ;  and  even  then  we  were  happy  upon 
meat  alone,  until  at  last  each  one  in  his  turn,  like  every  other  moving  thing 
about  us,  both  man  and  beast,  were  vomiting  and  fainting,  under  the  poisonous 
influence  of  some  latent  enemy,  that  was  floating  in  the  air,  and  threatening 
our  destruction.  Then  came  the  "  tug  of  war,"  and  instead  of  catering  for 
our  amusements,  every  one  seemed  desperately  studying  the  means  that  were 
to  support  him  on  his  feet,  and  bring  him  safe  home  again  to  the  bosoms  of  his 
friends.  In  our  start,  our  feelings  were  buoyant  and  light,  and  we  had  the 
luxuries  of  life — the  green  prairies,  spotted  with  wild  flowers,  and  the  clear 
blue  sky,  were  an  earthly  paradise  to  us,  until  fatigue  and  disease,  and  at 
last  despair,  made  them  tiresome  and  painful  to  our  jaundiced  eyes. 

On  our  way,  and  while  we  were  in  good  heart,  my  friend  Joe  and  I  had 
picked  up  many  minerals  and  fossils  of  an  interesting  nature,  which  we  put 
in  our  portmanteaux  and  carried  for  weeks,  with  much  pains,  and  some  pain 
also,  until  the  time  when  our  ardour  cooled  and  our  spirits  lagged,  and  then 
we  discharged  and  threw  them  away ;  and  sometimes  we  came  across  speci 
mens  again,  still  more  wonderful,  which  we  put  in  their  place,  and  lugged 
along  till  we  were  tired  of  them,  and  their  weight,  and  we  discharged  them  as 
before ;  so  that  from  our  eager  desire  to  procure,  we  lugged  many  pounds 
weight  of  stones,  shells,  &c.  nearly  the  whole  way,  and  were  glad  that 
their  mother  Earth  should  receive  them  again  at  our  hands,  which  was  done 
long  before  we  got  back. 

One  of  the  most  curious  places  we  met  in  all  our  route,  was  a  mountain 
ridge  of  fossil  shells,  from  which  a  great  number  of  the  above-mentioned 
specimens  were  taken.  During  our  second  day's  march  from  the  mouth  of 
the  False  Washita,  we  were  astonished  to  find  ourselves  travelling  over  a  bed 
of  clam  and  oyster  shells,  which  were  all  in  a  complete  state  of  petrifaction. 
This  ridge,  which  seemed  to  run  from  N.  E.  to  S.W.  was  several  hundred  feet 
high,  and  varying  from  a  quarter  to  half  a  mile  in  breadth,  seemed  to  be  com 
posed  of  nothing  but  a  concretion  of  shells,  which ,  on  the  surface,  exposed  to 
the  weather  for  the  depth  of  eight  or  ten  inches,  were  entirely  separated  from 
the  cementing  material  which  had  held  them  together,  and  were  lying  on  the 
surface,  sometimes  for  acres  together,  without  a  particle  of  soil  or  grass 
upon  them  ;  with  the  colour,  shapes  and  appearance  exactly,  of  the  natural 
shells,  lying  loosely  together,  into  which  our  horses'  feet  were  sinking  at  every 
step,  above  their  fetterlocks.  These  I  consider  the  most  extraordinary 
petrifactions  I  ever  beheld.  In  any  way  they  could  be  seen,  individually 
or  in  the  mass  together,  they  seemed  to  be  nothing  but  the  pure  shells 
themselves,  both  in  colour  and  in  shape.  In  many  instances  we  picked 
them  up  entire,  never  having  been  opened  ;  and  taking  our  knives  out,  and 
splitting  them  open  as  we  would  an  oyster,  the  fish  was  seen  petrified  in 
perfect  form,  and  by  dipping  it  into  water,  it  shewed  all  the  colours  and 
freshness  of  an  oyster  just  opened  and  laid  on  a  plate  to  be  eaten.  Joe  and 
I  had  carefully  tied  up  many  of  these,  with  which  we  felt  quite  sure  we  could 


86 

deceive  our  oyster-eating  friends  when  we  got  back  to  the  East ;  yet,  like 
many  other  things  we  collected,  they  shared  the  fate  that  I  have  mentioned, 
without  our  bringing  home  one  of  them,  though  we  brought  many  of  them 
several  hundreds  of  miles,  and  at  last  threw  them  away.  This  remarkable 
ridge  is  in  some  parts  covered  with  grass,  but  generally  with  mere  scattering 
bunches,  for  miles  together,  partially  covering  this  compact  mass  of  shells, 
forming  (in  my  opinion)  one  of  the  greatest  geological  curiosities  now  to  be 
seen  in  this  country,  as  it  lies  evidently  some  thousands  of  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  ocean,  and  seven  or  eight  hundred  miles  from  the  nearest  point 
on  the  sea-coast. 

In  another  section  of  the  country,  lying  between  Fort  Gibson  and  the 
Washita,  we  passed  over  a  ridge  for  several  miles,  running  parallel  to  this, 
where  much  of  the  way  there  was  no  earth  or  grass  under  foot,  but  our  horses 
were  travelling  on  a  solid  rock,  which  had  on  its  surface  a  reddish  or  oxidized 
appearance ;  and  on  getting  from  my  horse  and  striking  it  with  my  hatchet, 
I  found  it  to  contain  sixty  or  eighty  per  cent  of  solid  iron,  which  produced  a 
ringing  noise,  and  a  rebounding  of  the  hatchet,  as  if  it  were  struck  upon  an 
anvil. 

In  other  parts,  and  farther  West,  between  the  Camanchee  village  and  the 
Canadian,  we  passed  over  a  similar  surface  for  many  miles  denuded,  with 
the  exception  of  here  and  there  little  bunches  of  grass  and  wild  sage,  a  level 
and  exposed  surface  of  solid  gypsum,  of  a  dark  grey  colour  ;  and  through  it, 
occasionally,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  discover,  to  the  East  and  the  West, 
streaks  of  three  and  five  inches  wide  of  snowy  gypsum,  which  was  literally 
as  white  as  the  drifted  snow. 

Of  saltpetre  and  salt,  there  are  also  endless  supplies ;  so  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  mineral  resources  of  this  wilderness  country  are  inexhaustible  and 
rich,  and  that  the  idle  savage  who  never  converts  them  to  his  use,  must 
soon  yield  them  to  the  occupation  of  enlightened  and  cultivating  man. 

In  the  vicinity  of  this  post  there  are  an  immense  number  of  Indians,  most 
of  whom  have  been  removed  to  their  present  locations  by  the  Government, 
from  their  Eastern  original  positions,  within  a  few  years  past ;  and  previous  to 
my  starting  with  the  dragoons,  I  had  two  months  at  my  leisure  in  this 
section  of  the  country,  which  I  used  in  travelling  about  with  my  canvass 
and  note-book,  and  visiting  all  of  them  in  their  villages.  I  have  made  many 
paintings  amongst  them,  and  have  a  curious  note-book  to  open  at  a  future 
day,  for  which  the  reader  may  be  prepared.  The  tribes  whom  I  thus  visited, 
and  of  whom  my  note-book  will  yet  speak,  are  the  Cherokees,  Choctaws, 
Creeks,  Seminoles,  Chickasaws,  Quapaws,  Senecas,  Delawares,  and  several 
others,  whose  customs  are  interesting,  and  whose  history,  from  their  proximity 
to,  and  dealings  with  the  civilized  community,  is  one  of  great  interest,  and 
some  importance,  to  the  enlightened  world.  Adieu. 


LETTER— No.  46. 


ALTON,  ILLINOIS. 

A  FEW  days  after  the  date  of  the  above  Letter,  I  took  leave  of  Fort  Gib 
son,  and  made  a  transit  across  the  prairies  to  this  place,  a  distance  of  550 
miles,  which  I  have  performed  entirely  alone,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of 
joining  my  wife,  whom  I  have  found  in  good  health,  in  a  family  of  my 
esteemed  friends,  with  whom  she  has  been  residing  during  my  last  year  of 
absence. 

While  at  Fort  Gibson,  on  my  return  from  the  Camanchees,  I  was 
quartered  for  a  month  or  two  in  a  room  with  my  fellow-companion  in  misery, 
Captain  Wharton,  of  the  dragoons,  who  had  come  in  from  the  prairies  in  a 
condition  very  similar  to  mine,  and  laid  in  a  bed  in  the  opposite  corner  of  the 
room  ;  where  we  laid  for  several  weeks,  like  two  grim  ghosts,  rolling  our 
glaring  and  staring  eyeballs  upon  each  other,  when  we  were  totally  unable 
to  hold  converse,  other  than  that  which  was  exchanged  through  the  expres 
sive  language  of  our  hollow,  and  bilious,  sunken  eyes. 

The  Captain  had  been  sent  with  a  company  of  dragoons  to  escort  the 
Santa  Fee  Traders  through  the  country  of  the  Camanchees  and  Pawnees, 
and  had  returned  from  a  rapid  and  bold  foray  into  the  country,  with  many 
of  his  men  sick,  and  himself  attacked  with  the  epidemic  of  the  country. 
The  Captain  is  a  gentleman  of  high  and  noble  bearing,  of  one  of  the  most 
respected  families  in  Philadelphia,  with  a  fine  and  chivalrous  feeling  ;  but 
with  scarce  physical  stamina  sufficient  to  bear  him  up  under  the  rough  vicis 
situdes  of  his  wild  and  arduous  sort  of  life  in  this  country. 

As  soon  as  our  respective  surgeons  had  clarified  our  flesh  and  our  bones 
with  calomel,  had  brought  our  pulses  to  beat  calmly,  our  tongues  to  ply 
gently,  and  our  stomachs  to  digest  moderately;  we  began  to  feel  pleasure 
exquisitely  in  our  convalescence,  and  draw  amusement  from  mutual  relations 
of  scenes  and  adventures  we  had  witnessed  on  our  several  marches.  The 
Captain  convalescing  faster  than  I  did,  soon  got  so  as  to  eat  (but  not  to 
digest)  enormous  meals,  which  visited  back  upon  him  the  renewed  horrors  of 
his  disease  ;  and  I,  who  had  got  ahead  of  him  in  strength,  but  not  in  pru 
dence,  was  thrown  back  in  my  turn,  by  similar  indulgence;  and  so  we  were 
mutually  and  repeatedly,  until  he  at  length  got  so  as  to  feel  strength  enough 
to  ride,  and  resolution  enough  to  swear  that  he  would  take  leave  of  that 
deadly  spot,  and  seek  restoration  and  health  in  a  cooler  and  more  congenial 


88 

latitude.  So  he  had  his  horse  brought  up  one  morning,  whilst  he  was  so 
weak  that  he  could  scarcely  mount  upon  its  back,  and  with  his  servant,  a 
small  negro  boy,  packed  on  another,  he  steered  off  upon  the  prairies  towards 
Fort  Leavenworth,  500  miles  to  the  North,  where  his  company  had  long 
since  marched.  • 

I  remained  a  week  or  two  longer,  envying  the  Captain  the  good  luck  to 
escape  from  that  dangerous  ground ;  and  after  I  had  gained  strength  suf 
ficient  to  warrant  it,  I  made  preparations  to  take  informal  leave,  and  wend 
my  way  also  over  the  prairies  to  the  Missouri,  a  distance  of  500  miles,  and 
most  of  the  way  a  solitary  wilderness.  For  this  purpose  I  had  my  horse 
"  Charley"  brought  up  from  his  pasture,  where  he  had  been  in  good  keeping 
during  my  illness,  and  got  so  fat  as  to  form  almost  an  objectionable  contrast 
to  his  master,  with  whom  he  was  to  embark  on  a  long  and  tedious  journey 
again,  over  the  vast  and  almost  boundless  prairies. 

I  had,  like  the  Captain,  grown  into  such  a  dread  of  that  place,  from  the 
scenes  of  death  that  were  and  had  been  visited  upon  it,  that  I  resolved  to  be 
off  as  soon  as  1  had  strength  to  get  on  to  my  horse,  and  balance  myself 
upon  his  back.  For  this  purpose  I  packed  up  my  canvass  and  brushes, 
and  other  luggage,  and  sent  them  down  the  river  to  the  Mississippi,  to  be 
forwarded  by  steamer,  to  meet  me  at  St.  Louis.  So,  one  fine  morning, 
Charley  was  brought  up  and  saddled,  and  a  bear-skin  and  a  buffalo  robe 
being  spread  upon  his  saddle,  and  a  coffee-pot  and  tin  cup  tied  to  it  ako — 
with  a  few  pounds  of  hard  biscuit  in  my  portmanteau — with  my  fowling- 
piece  in  my  hand,  and  my  pistols  in  my  belt — with  my  sketch-book  slung 
on  my  back,  and  a  small  pocket  compass  in  my  pocket ;  I  took  leave  of 
Fort  Gibson,  even  against  the  advice  of  my  surgeon  and  all  the  officers  of 
the  garrison,  who  gathered  around  me  to  bid  me  farewell.  No  argument 
could  contend  with  the  fixed  resolve  in  my  own  mind,  that  if  I  could  get 
out  upon  the  prairies,  and  moving  continually  to  the  Northward,  I  should 
daily  gain  strength,  and  save  myself,  possibly,  from  the  jaws  of  that  vora 
cious  burial-ground  that  laid  in  front  of  my  room;  where  I  had  for  months 
laid  and  imagined  myself  going  with  other  poor  fellows,  whose  mournful 
dirges  were  played  under  my  window  from  day  to  day.  No  one  can  ima 
gine  what  was  the  dread  I  felt  for  that  place  ;  nor  the  pleasure,  which  was 
extatic,  when  Charley  was  trembling  under  me,  and  I  turned  him  around 
on  the  top  of  a  prairie  bluff  at  a  mile  distance,  to  take  the  last  look  upon  it, 
and  thank  God,  as  I  did  audibly,  that  I  was  not  to  be  buried  within  its 
enclosure.  I  said  to  myself,  that  "  to  die  on  the  prairie,  and  be  devoured 
by  wolves  ;  or  to  fall  in  combat  and  be  scalped  by  an  Indian,  would  be  far 
more  acceptable  than  the  lingering  death  that  would  consign  me  to  the  jaws 
of  that  insatiable  grave,"  for  which,  in  the  fever  and  weakness  of  my  mind, 
I  had  contracted  so  destructive  a  terror. 

So,  alone,  without  other  living  being  with  me  than  my  affectionate  horse 
Charley,  I  turned  my  face  to  the  North,  and  commenced  on  my  long  journey, 


89 

with  confidence  full  and  strong,  that  I  should  gain  strength  daily  ;  and 
no  one  can  ever  know  the  pleasure  of  that  moment,  which  placed  me 
alone,  upon  the  boundless  sea  of  waving  grass,  over  which  my  proud  horse 
was  prancing,  and  I  with  my  life  in  my  own  hands,  commenced  to  steer  my 
course  to  the  banks  of  the  Missouri. 

For  the  convalescent,  rising  and  escaping  from  the  gloom  and  horrors  of 
a  sick  bed,  astride  of  his  strong  and  trembling  horse,  carrying  him  fast  and 
safely  over  green  fields  spotted  and  tinted  with  waving  wild  flowers ;  and 
through  the  fresh  and  cool  breezes  that  are  rushing  about  him,  as  he  daily 
shortens  the  distance  that  lies  between  him  and  his  wife  and  little  ones, 
there  is  an  exquisite  pleasure  yet  to  be  learned,  by  those  who  never  have 
felt  it. 

Day  by  day  I  thus  pranced  and  galloped  along,  the  whole  way  through 
waving  grass  and  green  fields,  occasionally  dismounting  and  lying  in  the 
grass  an  hour  or  so,  until  the  grim  shaking  and  chattering  of  an  ague  chill 
had  passed  off;  and  through  the  nights,  slept  on  my  bear-skin  spread  upon 
the  grass,  with  my  saddle  for  my  pillow,  and  my  buffalo  robe  drawn  over  me 
for  my  covering.  My  horse  Charley  was  picketed  near  me  at  the  end  of 
his  laso,  which  gave  him  room  for  his  grazing ;  and  thus  we  snored  and  nod 
ded  away  the  nights,  and  never  were  denied  the  doleful  serenades  of  the  gangs 
of  sneaking  wolves  that  were  nightly  perambulating  our  little  encampment, 
and  stationed  at  a  safe  distance  from  us  at  sun-rise  in  the  morning — gazing 
at  us,  and  impatient  to  pick  up  the  crumbs  and  bones  that  were  left,  when  we 
moved  away  from  our  feeble  fire  that  had  faintly  flickered  through  the  night, 
and  in  the  absence  of  timber,  had  been  made  of  dried  buffalo  dung,  (PLATE 
184). 

This  "  Charley"  was  a  noble  animal  of  the  Camanchee  wild  breed,  of  a 
clay  bank  colour ;  and  from  our  long  and  tried  acquaintance,  we  had  be 
come  very  much  attached  to  each  other,  and  acquired  a  wonderful  facility 
both  of  mutual  accommodation,  and  of  construing  each  other's  views  and 
intentions.  In  fact,  we  had  been  so  long  tried  together,  that  there  would 
have  seemed  to  the  spectator  almost  an  unity  of  interest ;  and  at  all  events, 
an  unity  of  feelings  on  the  subject  of  attachment,  as  well  as  on  that  of 
mutual  dependence  and  protection. 

I  purchased  this  very  showy  and  well-known  animal  of  Colonel  Burbank, 
of  the  ninth  regiment,  and  rode  it  the  whole  distance  to  the  Camanchee 
villages  and  back  again ;  and  at  the  time  when  most  of  the  horses  of  the 
regiment  were  drooping  and  giving  out  by  the  way — Charley  flourished 
and  came  in  in  good  flesh  and  good  spirits. 

On  this  journey,  while  he  and  I  were  twenty-five  days  alone,  we  had 
much  time,  and  the  best  of  circumstances,  under  which  to  learn  what  we 
had  as  yet  overlooked  in  each  other's  characters,  as  well  as  to  draw  great 
pleasure  and  real  benefit  from  what  we  already  had  learned  of  each  other, 
in  our  former  travels. 

VOL.  ii.  N 


90 

I  generally  halted  on  the  bank  of  some  little  stream,  at  half  an  hour's 
sun,  where  feed  was  good  for  Charley,  and  where  I  could  get  wood  to  kindle 
my  fire,  and  water  for  my  coffee.  The  first  thing  was  to  undress  "  Charley" 
and  drive  down  his  picket,  to  which  he  was  fastened,  to  graze  over  a  circle 
that  he  could  inscribe  at  the  end  of  his  laso.  In  this  wise  he  busily 
fed  himself  until  nightfall;  and  after  my  coffee  was  made  and  drank,  I 
uniformly  moved  him  up,  with  his  picket  by  my  head,  so  that  I  could  lay 
my  hand  upon  his  laso  in  an  instant,  in  case  of  any  alarm  that  was  liable 
to  drive  him  from  me.  On  one  of  these  evenings  when  he  was  grazing  as 
usual,  he  slipped  the  laso  over  his  head,  and  deliberately  took  his  sup 
per  at  his  pleasure,  wherever  he  chose  to  prefer  it,  as  he  was  strolling  around. 
When  night  approached,  I  took  the  laso  in  hand  and  endeavoured  to  catch 
him,  but  I  soon  saw  that  he  was  determined  to  enjoy  a  little  freedom  ;  and 
he  continually  evaded  me  until  dark,  when  I  abandoned  the  pursuit,  making 
up  my  mind  that  I  should  inevitably  lose  him,  and  be  obliged  to  perform  the 
rest  of  my  journey  on  foot.  He  had  led  me  a  chase  of  half  a  mile  or  more, 
when  I  left  him  busily  grazing,  and  returned  to  my  little  solitary  bivouac, 
and  laid  myself  on  my  bear  skin,  and  went  to  sleep. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night  I  waked,  whilst  I  was  lying  on  my  back,  and 
on  half  opening  my  eyes,  I  was  instantly  shocked  to  the  soul,  by  the  huge 
figure  (as  I  thought)  of  an  Indian,  standing  over  me,  and  in  the  very  instant 
of  taking  my  scalp !  The  chill  of  horror  that  paralyzed  me  for  the  first 
moment,  held  me  still  till  I  saw  there  was  no  need  of  my  moving — that  my 
faithful  horse  "  Charley"  had  "played  shy"  till  he  had  "  filled  his  belly," 
and  had  then  moved  up,  from  feelings  of  pure  affection,  or  from  instinctive 
fear,  or  possibly,  from  a  due  share  of  both,  and  taken  his  position  with  his 
forefeet  at  the  edge  of  my  bed,  with  his  head  hanging  directly  over  me,  while 
he  was  standing  fast  asleep  ! 

My  nerves,  which  had  been  most  violently  shocked,  were  soon  quieted, 
and  I  fell  asleep,  and  so  continued  until  sunrise  in  the  morning,  when  I 
waked,  and  beheld  my  faithful  servant  at  some  considerable  distance,  busily 
at  work  picking  up  his  breakfast  amongst  the  cane-brake,  along  the  bank 
of  the  creek.  I  went  as  busily  to  work,  preparing  my  own,  which  was  eaten, 
and  after  it,  I  had  another  half-hour  of  fruitless  endeavours  to  catch  Charley, 
whilst  he  seemed  mindful  of  success  on  the  evening  before,  and  continually 
tantalized  me  by  turning  around  and  around,  and  keeping  out  of  my  reach. 
I  recollected  the  conclusive  evidence  of  his  attachment  and  dependence, 
which  he  had  voluntarily  given  in  the  night,  and  I  thought  I  would  try  them 
in  another  way.  So  I  packed  up  my  things  and  slung  the  saddle  on  my 
back,  trailing  my  gun  in  my  hand,  and  started  on  my  route.  After  I  had 
advanced  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  I  looked  back,  and  saw  him  standing  with 
his  head  and  tail  very  high,  looking  alternately  at  me  and  at  the  spot  where 
I  had  been  encamped,  and  left  a  little  fire  burning.  In  this  condition  he 
stood  and  surveyed  the  prairies  around  for  a  while,  as  I  continued  on.  He, 


91 

at  length,  walked  with  a  hurried  step  to  the  spot,  and  seeing  everything 
gone,  began  to  neigh  very  violently,  and  at  last  started  off  at  fullest  speed, 
and  overtook  me,  passing  within  a  few  paces  of  me,  and  wheeling  about  at 
a  few  rods  distance  in  front  of  me,  trembling  like  an  aspen  leaf. 

I  called  him  by  his  familiar  name,  and  walked  up  to  him  with  the  bridle 
in  my  hand,  which  I  put  over  his  head,  as  he  held  it  down  for  me,  and  the 
saddle  on  his  back,  as  he  actually  stooped  to  receive  it.  I  was  soon  ar 
ranged,  and  on  his  back,  when  he  started  off  upon  his  course  as  if  he  was 
well  contented  and  pleased,  like  his  rider,  with  the  manceuvre  which  had 
brought  us  together  again,  and  afforded  us  mutual  relief  from  our  awkward 
positions.  Though  this  alarming  freak  of  "  Charley's"  passed  off  and  ter 
minated  so  satisfactorily  ;  yet  I  thought  such  rather  dangerous  ones  to  play, 
and  I  took  good  care  after  that  night,  to  keep  him  under  my  strict  authority; 
resolving  to  avoid  further  tricks  and  experiments  till  we  got  to  the  land  of 
cultivated  fields  and  steady  habits. 

On  the  night  of  this  memorable  day,  Charley  and  I  stopped  in  one  of 
the  most  lovely  little  valleys  I  ever  saw,  and  even  far  more  beautiful  than 
could  have  been  imagined  by  mortal  man.  An  enchanting  little  lawn  of 
five  or  six  acres,  on  the  banks  of  a  cool  and  rippling  stream,  that  was  alive 
with  fish  ;  and  every  now  and  then,  a  fine  brood  of  young  ducks,  just  old 
enough  for  delicious  food,  and  too  unsophisticated  to  avoid  an  easy  and 
simple  death.  This  little  lawn  was  surrounded  by  bunches  and  copses  of 
the  most  luxuriant  and  picturesque  foliage,  consisting  of  the  lofty  bois  d'arcs 
and  elms,  spreading  out  their  huge  branches,  as  if  offering  protection  to  the 
rounded  groups  of  cherry  and  plum-trees  that  supported  festoons  of  grape 
vines,  with  their  purple  clusters  that  hung  in  the  most  tempting  manner 
over  the  green  carpet  that  was  everywhere  decked  out  with  wild  flowers,  of 
all  tints  and  of  various  sizes,  from  the  modest  wild  sun-flowers,  with  their 
thousand  tall  and  drooping  heads,  to  the  lillies  that  stood,  and  the  violets 
that  crept  beneath  them.  By  the  side  of  this  cool  stream,  Charley  was 
fastened,  and  near  him  my  bear-skin  was  spread  in  the  grass,  and  by  it  my 
little  fire,  to  which  I  soon  brought  a  fine  string  of  perch  from  the  brook  ; 
from  which,  and  a  broiled  duck,  and  a  delicious  cup  of  coffee,  I  made 
my  dinner  and  supper,  which  were  usually  united  in  one  meal,  at  half 
an  hour's  sun.  After  this  I  strolled  about  this  sweet  little  paradise,  which 
I  found  was  chosen,  not  only  by  myself,  but  by  the  wild  deer,  which  were 
repeatedly  rising  from  their  quiet  lairs,  and  bounding  out,  and  over  the 
graceful  swells  of  the  prairies  which  hemmed  in,  and  framed  this  little 
picture  of  sweetest,  tints  and  most  masterly  touches. 

The  Indians  also,  I  found,  had  loved  it  once,  and  left  it;  for  here  and 
there  were  their  solitary  and  deserted  graves,  which  told,  though  briefly,  of 
former  chaunts  and  sports  ;  and  perhaps,  of  wars  and  deaths,  that  have 
once  rung  and  echoed  through  this  little  silent  vale. 

On   my   return  to  my  encampment,  I  laid  down  upon  my   back,  and 

N  2 


92 

looked  awhile  into  the  blue  heavens  that  were  over  me,  with  their  pure  and 
milk  white  clouds  that  were  passing — with  the  sun  just  setting  in  the  West, 
and  the  silver  moon  rising  in  the  East,  and  renewed  the  impressions  of  my 
own  insignificance,  as  I  contemplated  the  incomprehensible  mechanism  of 
that  wonderful  clock,  whose  time  is  infallible,  and  whose  motion  is  eternity ! 
I  trembled,  at  last,  at  the  dangerous  expanse  of  my  thoughts,  and  turned 
them  again,  and  my  eyes,  upon  the  little  and  more  comprehensible  things 
that  were  about  me.  One  of  the  first  was  a  newspaper,  which  I  had  brought 
from  the  Garrison,  the  National  Intelligencer,  of  Washington,  which  I  had 
read  for  years,  but  never  with  quite  the  zest  and  relish  that  I  now  conversed 
over  its  familiar  columns,  in  this  clean  and  sweet  valley  of  dead  silence  ! 

And  while  reading,  I  thought  of  (and  laughed),  what  I  had  almost  forgotten, 
the  sensation  I  produced  amongst  the  Minatarees  while  on  the  Upper  Mis 
souri,  a  few  years  since,  by  taking  from  amongst  my  painting  apparatus  an  old 
number  of  the  New  York  Commercial  Advertiser,  edited  by  my  kind  and  tried 
friend  Colonel  Stone.  The  Minatarees  thought  that  I  was  mad,  when  they  saw 
me  for  hours  together,  with  my  eyes  fixed  upon  its  pages.  They  had  different 
and  various  conjectures  about  it ;  the  most  current  of  which  was,  that  I  was 
looking  at  it  to  cure  my  sore  eyes,  and  they  called  it  the  "  medicine  cloth 
for  sore  eyes  !"  I  at  length  put  an  end  to  this  and  several  equally  ignorant 
conjectures,  by  reading  passages  in  it,  which  were  interpreted  to  them,  and 
the  objects  of  the  paper  fully  explained  ;  after  which,  it  was  looked  upon  as 
much  greater  mystery  than  before ;  and  several  liberal  offers  were  made  me 
for  it,  which  I  was  obliged,  to  refuse,  having  already  received  a  beautifully 
garnished  robe  for  it,  from  the  hands  of  a  young  son  of  Esculapius,  who  told 
me  that  if  he  could  employ  a  good  interpreter  to  explain  everything  in  it,  he 
could  travel  about  amongst  the  Minatarees  and  Mandans,  and  Sioux,  and 
exhibit  it  after  I  was  gone ;  getting  rich  with  presents,  and  adding  greatly 
to  the  list  of  his  medicines,  as  it  would  make  him  a  great  Medicine-Man.  I  left 
with  the  poor  fellow  his  painted  robe,  and  the  newspaper ;  and  just  before  I  de 
parted,  I  saw  him  unfolding  it  to  show  to  some  of  his  friends,  when  he  took 
from  around  it,  some  eight  or  ten  folds  of  birch  bark  and  deer  skins  ;  all  of 
which  were  carefully  enclosed  in  a  sack  made  of  the  skin  of  a  pole  cat,  and  un 
doubtedly  destined  to  become,  and  to  be  called,  his  mystery  or  medicine-bag. 

The  distance  from  Fort  Gibson  to  the  Missouri,  where  I  struck  the  river, 
is  about  five  hundred  miles,  and  most  of  the  way  a  beautiful  prairie,  in  a 
wild  and  uncultivated  state  without  roads  and  without  bridges,  over  a  great 
part  of  which  I  steered  my  course  with  my  pocket-compass,  fording  and 
swimming  the  streams  in  the  best  manner  I  could ;  shooting  prairie  hens,  and 
occasionally  catching  fish,  which  I  cooked  for  my  meals,  and  slept  upon  the 
ground  at  night.  On  my  .  way  I  visited  "  Riqua's  Village"  of  Osages,  and 
lodged  daring  the  night  in  the  hospitable  cabin  of  my  old  friend  Beatte,  of 
whom  I  have  often  spoken  heretofore,  as  one  of  the  guides  and  hunters  for 
the  dragoons  on  their  campaign  in  the  Camanchee  country.  This  was  the 


93 

most  extraordinary  hunter,  I  think,  that  I  ever  hare  met  in  all  my  travels. 
To  "hunt"  was  a  phrase  almost  foreign  to  him,  however,  for  when  he  went 
out  with  his  rifle,  it  was  "for  meat"  or  "for  cattle',"  and  he  never  came 
in  without  it.  He  never  told  how  many  animals  he  had  seen — how  many 
he  had  wounded,  &c. — but  his  horse  was  always  loaded  with  meat,  which 
was  thrown  down  in  camp  without  comment  or  words  spoken.  Riqua  was 
an  early  pioneer  of  Christianity  in  this  country,  who  has  devoted  many  years 
of  his  life,  with  his  interesting  family,  in  endeavouring  to  civilize  and  chris 
tianize  these  people,  by  the  force  of  pious  and  industrious  examples,  which 
he  has  successfully  set  them  ;  and,  I  think,  in  the  most  judicious  way,  by 
establishing  a  little  village,  at  some  miles  distance  from  the  villages  of  the 
Osages ;  where  he  has  invited  a  considerable  number  of  families  who  have 
taken  their  residence  by  the  side  of  him  ;  where  they  are  following  his  virtu 
ous  examples  in  their  dealings  and  modes  of  life,  and  in  agricultural  pursuits 
which  he  is  teaching  them,  and  showing  them  that  they  may  raise  the  com 
forts  and  luxuries  of  life  out  of  the  ground,  instead  of  seeking  for  them  in 
the  precarious  manner  in  which  they  naturally  look  for  them,  in  the  uncer 
tainty  of  the  chase. 

It  was  a  source  of  much  regret  to  me,  that  I  did  not  see  this  pious  man, 
as  he  was  on  a  Tour  to  the  East,  when  I  was  in  his  little  village. 

Beatte  lived  in  this  village  with  his  aged  parents,  to  whom  he  introduced 
me  ;  and  with  whom,  altogether,  I  spent  a  very  pleasant  evening  in  conversa 
tion.  They  are  both  French,  and  have  spent  the  greater  part  of  their  lives 
with  the  Osages,  and  seem  to  be  familiar  with  their  whole  history.  This 
Beatte  was  the  hunter  and  guide  for  a  party  of  rangers  (the  summer  before 
our  campaign),  with  whom  Washington  Irving  made  his  excursion  to  the 
borders  of  the  Pawnee  country ;  and  of  whose  extraordinary  character  and 
powers,  Mr.  Irving  has  drawn  a  very  just  and  glowing  account,  excepting 
one  error  which  I  think  he  has  inadvertently  fallen  into,  that  of  calling  him 
a  "  half  breed"  Beatte  had  complained  of  this  to  me  often  while  out  on 
the  prairies ;  and  when  I  entered  his  hospitable  cabin,  he  said  he  was  glad 
to  see  me,  and  almost  instantly  continued,  "  Now  you  shall  see,  Monsieur 
Catline,  I  am  not  '  half  breed,'  here  I  shall  introduce  you  to  my  father  and 
my  mother,  who  you  see  are  two  very  nice  and  good  old  French  people." 

From  this  cabin  where  I  fared  well  and  slept  soundly,  I  started  in  the 
morning,  after  taking  with  them  a  good  cup  of  coffee,  and  went  smoothly  on 
over  the  prairies  on  my  course. 

About  the  middle  of  my  journey,  I  struck  a  road  leading  into  a  small  civi 
lized  settlement,  called  the  "  Kickapoo  prairie"  to  which  I  "  bent  my 
course  ;"  and  riding  up  to  a  log  cabin  which  was  kept  as  a  sort  of  an  hotel 
or  tavern,  I  met  at  the  door,  the  black  boy  belonging  to  my  friend  Captain 
Wharton,  whom  1  have  said  took  his  leave  of  Fort  Gibson  a  few  weeks  before 
me  ;  I  asked  the  boy  where  his  master  was,  to  which  he  replied,  "My  good 
massa,  Mass  i  Wharton,  in  dese  house,  jist  dead  ob  de  libber  compliment !" 


94 

I  dismounted  and  went  in,  and  to  my  deepest  sorrow  and  anguish,  I  found 
him,  as  the  boy  said,  nearly  dead,  without  power  to  raise  his  head  or  his 
voice — his  eyes  were  rolled  upon  me,  and  as  he  recognized  me  he  took  me 
by  the  hand,  which  he  firmly  gripped,  whilst  both  shed  tears  in  profusion. 
By  placing  my  ear  to  his  lips,  his  whispers  could  be  heard,  and  he  was  able 
in  an  imperfect  manner  to  make  his  views  and  his  wishes  known.  His  disease 
seemed  to  be  a  repeated  attack  of  his  former  malady,  and  a  severe  affection 
of  the  liver,  which  was  to  be  (as  his  physician  said)  the  proximate  cause  of 
his  death.  1  conversed  with  his  physician  who  seemed  to  be  a  young  and 
inexperienced  man,  who  told  me  that  he  certainly  could  not  live  more  than 
ten  days.  I  staid  two  days  with  him,  and  having  no  means  with  me  of 
rendering  him  pecuniary  or  other  aid  amongst  strangers,  I  left  him  in  kind 
hands,  and  started  on  my  course  again.  My  health  improved  daily,  from 
the  time  of  my  setting  out  at  Fort  Gibson ;  and  I  was  now  moving  along 
cheerfully,  and  in  hopes  soon  to  reach  the  end  of  my  toilsome  journey.  I 
had  yet  vast  prairies  to  pass  over,  and  occasional  latent  difficulties,  which 
were  not  apparent  on  their  smooth  and  deceiving  surfaces.  Deep  sunken 
streams,  like  ditches,  occasionally  presented  themselves  suddenly  to  my  view, 
when  I  was  within  a  few  steps  of  plunging  into  them  from  their  perpendicular 
sides,  which  were  overhung  with  long  wild  grass,  and  almost  obscured  from 
the  sight.  The  bearings  of  my  compass  told  me  that  I  must  cross  them,  and 
the  only  alternative  was  to  plunge  into  them,  and  get  out  as  well  as  I  could. 
They  were  often  muddy,  and  I  could  not  tell  whether  they  were  three  or  ten 
feet  deep,  until  my  horse  was  in  them ;  and  sometimes  he  went  down  head 
foremost,  and  I  with  him,  to  scramble  out  on  the  opposite  shore  in  the  best 
condition  we  could.  In  one  of  these  canals,  which  I  had  followed  for 
several  miles  in  the  vain  hope  of  finding  a  shoal,  or  an  accustomed  ford,  I 
plunged,  with  Charley,  where  it  was  about  six  or  eight  yards  wide  (and  God 
knows  how  deep,  for  we  did  not  go  to  the  bottom),  and  swam  him  to  the 
opposite  bank,  on  to  which  I  clung ;  and  which,  being  perpendicular  and  of 
clay,  and  three  or  four  feet  higher  than  the  water,  was  an  insurmountable 
difficulty  to  Charley  ;  and  I  led  the  poor  fellow  at  least  a  mile,  as  I  walked 
on  the  top  of  the  bank,  with  the  bridle  in  my  hand,  holding  his  head  above 
the  water  as  he  was  swimming  ;  and  I  at  times  almost  inextricably  entangled 
in  the  long  grass  that  was  often  higher  than  my  head,  and  hanging  over  the 
brink,  filled  and  woven  together,  with  ivy  and  wild  pea-vines.  I  at  length 
(arid  just  before  I  was  ready  to  drop  the  rein  of  faithful  Charley,  in  hopeless 
despair),  came  to  an  old  buffalo  ford,  where  the  banks  were  graded  down, 
and  the  poor  exhausted  animal,  at  last  got  out,  and  was  ready  and  willing 
to  take  me  and  my  luggage  (after  I  had  dried  them  in  the  sun)  on  the 
journey  again. 

The  Osage  river  which  is  a  powerful  stream,  I  struck  at  a  place  which 
seemed  to  stagger  my  courage  very  much.  There  had  been  heavy  rains  but 
a  few  days  before,  and  this  furious  stream  was  rolling  along  its  wild  and 


95 

turbid  waters,  with  a  freshet  upon  it,  that  spread  its  waters,  in  many  places 
over  its  banks,  as  was  the  case  at  the  place  where  I  encountered  it.  There 
seemed  to  be  but  little  choice  in  places  with  this  stream,  which,  with  its  banks 
full,  was  sixty  or  eighty  yards  in  width,  with  a  current  that  was  sweeping 
along  at  a  rapid  rate.  I  stripped  everything  from  Charley,  and  tied  him 
with  his  laso,  until  I  travelled  the  shores  up  and  down  for  some  distance, 
and  collected  drift  wood  enough  for  a  small  raft,  which  I  constructed,  to 
carry  my  clothes  and  saddle,  and  other  things,  safe  over.  This  being  com 
pleted,  and  my  clothes  taken  off,  and  they  with  other  things,  laid  upon  the 
raft,  I  took  Charley  to  the  bank  and  drove  him  in  and  across,  where  he  soon 
reached  the  opposite  shore,  and  went  to  feeding  on  the  bank.  Next  was  to 
come  the  "  great  white  medicine  ;"  and  with  him,  saddle,  bridle,  saddle-bags, 
sketch-book,  gun  and  pistols,  coffee  and  coffee-pot,  powder,  and  his  clothes, 
all  of  which  were  placed  upon  the  raft,  and  the  raft  pushed  into  the  stream,  and 
the  "  medicine  man"  swimming  behind  it,  and  pushing  it  along  before  him, 
until  it  reached  the  opposite  shore,  at  least  half  a  mile  below  !  From  this, 
his  things  were  carried  to  the  top  of  the  bank,  and  in  a  little  time,  Charley 
was  caught  and  dressed,  and  straddled,  and  on  the  way  again. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  incidents  of  that  journey  of  500  miles,  which  I 
performed  entirely  alone,  and  which  at  last  brought  me  out  at  Boonville  on 
the  Western  bank  of  the  Missouri.  While  I  was  crossing  the  river  at 
that  place,  I  met  General  Arbuckle,  with  two  surgeons,  who  were  to  start 
the  next  day  from  Boonville  for  Fort  Gibson,  travelling  over  the  route  that 
I  had  just  passed.  I  instantly  informed  them  of  the  condition  of  poor 
Wharton,  and  the  two  surgeons  were  started  off  that  afternoon  at  fullest 
speed,  with  orders  to  reach  him  in  the  shortest  time  possible,  and  do  every 
thing  to  save  his  life.  I  assisted  in  purchasing  for  him,  several  little  things 
that  he  had  named  to  me,  such  as  jellies — acids — apples,  &c.  &c. ;  and 
saw  them  start ;  and  (God  knows),  I  shall  impatiently  hope  to  hear  of 
their  timely  assistance,  and  of  his  recovery.* 

From  Boonville,  which  is  a  very  pretty  little  town,  building  up  with  the  finest 
style  of  brick  houses,  I  crossed  the  river  to  New  Franklin,  where  I  laid  by 
several  days,  on  account  of  stormy  weather ;  and  from  thence  proceeded 
with  success  to  the  end  of  my  journey,  where  I  now  am,  under  the  roof  of 
kind  and  hospitable  friends,  with  my  dear  wife,  who  has  patiently  waited 
one  year  to  receive  me  back,  a  wreck,  as  I  now  am  ;  and  who  is  to  start  in 
a  few  days  with  me  to  the  coast  of  Florida,  1400  miles  South  of  this,  to 
spend  the  winter  in  patching  up  my  health,  and  fitting  me  for  future  cam 
paigns. 

On  this  Tour  (from  which  1  shall  return  in  the  spring,  if  my  health  will 

*  I  have  great  satisfaction  in  informing  the  reader,  that  I  learned  a  year  or  so  after  the 
above  date,  that  those  two  skilful  surgeons  hastened  on  with  all  possible  speed  to  the 
assistance  of  this  excellent  gentleman,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  conducting  him  to  his 
post,  after  he  had  entirely  and  permanently  recovered  his  health. 


96 

admit  of  it),  I  shall  visit  the  Seminoles  in  Florida, — the  Euchees — the 
Creeks  in  Alabama  and  Georgia,  and  the  Choctavvs  and  Cherokees,  who 
are  yet  remaining  on  their  lands,  on  the  East  side  of  the  Mississippi. 

We  take  steamer  for  New  Orleans  to-morrow,  so,  till  after  another  cam 
paign,   Adieu. 


L88 


97 


LETTER-NO.  47. 


SAINT  LO  UIS. 

SINCE  the  date  of  my  last  Letter,  a  whole  long  winter  has  passed  off, 
which  I  have  whiled  away  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  about  the  shores  of 
Florida  and  Texas.  My  health  was  soon  restored  by  the  congenial  climate 
I  there  found,  and  my  dear  wife  was  my  companion  the  whole  way.  We 
visited  the  different  posts,  and  all  that  we  could  find  to  interest  us  in  these 
delightful  realms,  and  took  steamer  from  New  Orleans  to  this  place,  where 
we  arrived  but  a  few  days  since. 

Supposing  that  the  reader  by  this  time  may  be  somewhat  tired  of  follow 
ing  me  in  my  erratic  wanderings  over  these  wild  regions,  I  have  resolved  to 
sit  down  awhile  before  I  go  further,  and  open  to  him  my  sketch-book,  in 
which  I  have  made  a  great  many  entries,  as  I  have  been  dodging  about, 
and  which  I  have  not  as  yet  shewed  to  him,  for  want  of  requisite  time  and 
proper  opportunity. 

In  opening  this  book,  the  reader  will  allow  me  to  turn  over  leaf  after  leaf, 
and  describe  to  him,  tribe  after  tribe,  and  chief  after  chief,  of  many  of  those 
whom  I  have  visited,  without  the  tediousness  of  travelling  too  minutely  over 
the  intervening  distances ;  in  which  I  fear  I  might  lose  him  as  a  fellow- 
traveller,  and  leave  him  fagged  out  by  the  way-side,  before  he  would  see 
all  that  I  am  anxious  to  show  him. 

About  a  year  since  I  made  a  visit  to  the 

KICKAPOOS, 

At  present  but  a  small  tribe,  numbering  six  or  800,  the  remnant  of  a  once 
numerous  and  warlike  tribe.  They  are  residing  within  the  state  of  Illinois, 
near  the  south  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  living  in  a  poor  and  miserable 
condition,  although  they  have  one  of  the  finest  countries  in  the  world. 
They  have  been  reduced  in  numbers  by  whiskey  and  small-pox,  and  the 
game  being  destroyed  in  their  country,  and  having  little  industry  to  work, 
they  are  exceedingly  poor  and  dependent.  In  fact,  there  is  very  little  in 
ducement  for  them  to  build  houses  and  cultivate  their  farms,  for  they  own 
so  large  and  so  fine  a  tract  of  country,  which  is  now  completely  surrounded 
by  civilized  settlements,  that  they  know,  from  experience,  they  will  soon 
be  obliged  to  sell  out  their  country  for  a  trifle,  and  move  to  the  West. 
VOL.  ii.  o 


98 

This  system  of  moving  has  already  commenced  with  them,  and  a  consider 
able  party  have  located  on  a  tract  of  lands  offered  to  them  on  the  West 
bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  a  little  north  of  Fort  Leaven  worth.* 

The  Kickapoos  have  long  lived  in  alliance  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and 
speak  a  language  so  similar  that  they  seem  almost  to  be  of  one  family.  The 
present  chief  of  this  tribe,  whose  name  is  Kee-an-ne-kuk  (the  foremost  man, 
PLATE  185),  usually  called  the  Shawnee  Prophet,  is  a  very  shrewd  and 
talented  man.  When  he  sat  for  his  portrait,  he  took  his  attitude  as  seen 
in  the  picture,  which  was  that  of  prayer.  And  I  soon  learned  that  he  was 
a  very  devoted  Christian,  regularly  holding  meetings  in  his  tribe,  on  the 
sabbath,  preaching  to  them  and  exhorting  them  to  a  belief  in  the  Christian 
religion^  and  to  an  abandonment  of  the  fatal  habit  of  whiskey-drinking, 
which  he  strenuously  represented  as  the  bane  that  was  to  destroy  them  all, 
if  they  did  not  entirely  cease  to  use  it.  I  went  on  the  sabbath,  to  hear 
this  eloquent  man  preach,  when  he  had  his  people  assembled  in  the  woods  ; 
and  although  I  could  not  understand  his  language,  1  was  surprised  and 
pleased  with  the  natural  ease  and  emphasis,  and  gesticulation,  which  carried 
their  own  evidence  of  the  eloquence  of  his  sermon. 

I  was  singularly  struck  with  the  noble  efforts  of  this  champion  of  the  mere 
remnant  of  a  poisoned  race,  so  strenuously  labouring  to  rescue  the  remainder 
of  his  people  from  the  deadly  bane  that  has  been  brought  amongst  them  by 
enlightened  Christians.  How  far  the  efforts  of  this  zealous  man  have  suc 
ceeded  in  christianizing,  1  cannot  tell,  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  his  exem 
plary  and  constant  endeavours  have  completely  abolished  the  practice  of 
drinking  whiskey  in  his  tribe ;  which  alone  is  a  very  praiseworthy  achieve 
ment,  and  the  first  and  indispensable  step  towards  all  other  improvements. 
I  was  some  time  amongst  these  people,  and  was  exceedingly  pleased,  and 
surprised  also,  to  witness  their  sobriety,  and  their  peaceable  conduct ;  not 
having  seen  an  instance  of  drunkenness,  or  seen  or  heard  of  any  use  made 
of  spirituous  liquors  whilst  I  was  amongst  the  tribe. 

Ah-ton-we-tuck  (the  cock  turkey,  PLATE  186),  is  another  Kickapoo  of 
some  distinction,  and  a  disciple  of  the  Prophet ;  in  the  attitude  of  prayer 
also,  which  he  is  reading  off  from  characters  cut  upon  a  stick  that  he  holds 
in  his  hands.  It  was  told  to  me  in  the  tribe  by  the  Traders  (though  I  am 
afraid  to  vouch  for  the  whole  truth  of  it),  that  while  a  Methodist  preacher 
was  soliciting  him  for  permission  to  preach  in  his  village,  the  Prophet  refused 
him  the  privilege,  but  secretly  took  him  aside  and  supported  him  until  he 
learned  from  him  his  creed,  and  his  system  of  teaching  it  to  others  ;  when  he 
discharged  him,  and  commenced  preaching  amongst  his  people  himself;  pre 
tending  to  have  had  an  interview  with  some  superhuman  mission,  or  inspired 
personage ;  ingenidusly  resolving,  that  if  there  was  any  honour  or  emolu 
ment,  of  influence  to  be  gained  by  the  promulgation  of  it,  he  might  as  well 

Since  the  above  was  written,  the  whole  of  this  tribe  have  been  removed  beyond  the 
Missouri,  having  sold  out  their  lands  in  the  state  of  Illinois  to  the  Government. 


99 

have  it  as  another  person  ;  and  with  this  view  he  commenced  preaching  and 
instituted  a  prayer,  which  he  ingeniously  carved  on  a  maple-stick  of  an  inch 
and  a  half  in  breadth,  in  characters  somewhat  resembling  Chinese  letters. 
These  sticks,  with  the  prayers  on  them,  he  has  introduced  into  every  family  of 
the  tribe,  and  into  the  hands  of  every  individual ;  and  as  he  has  necessarily 
the  manufacturing  of  them  all,  he  sells  them  at  his  own  price  ;  and  has  thus 
added  lucre  to  fame,  and  in  two  essential  and  effective  ways,  augmented  his 
influence  in  his  tribe.  Every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  tribe,  so  far  as 
I  saw  them,  were  in  the  habit  of  saying  their  prayer  from  this  stick  when 
going  to  bed  at  night,  and  also  when  rising  in  the  morning  ;  which  was  in 
variably  done  by  placing  the  fore-finger  of  the  right  hand  under  the  upper 
character,  until  they  repeat  a  sentence  or  two,  which  it  suggests  to  them ; 
and  then  slipping  it  under  the  next,  and  the  next,  and  so  on,  to  the  bottom 
of  the  stick,  which  altogether  required  about  ten  minutes,  as  it  was  sung 
over  in  a  sort  of  a  chaunt,  to  the  end. 

Many  people  have  called  all  this  an  ingenious  piece  of  hypocrisy  on  the 
part  of  the  Prophet,  and  whether  it  be  so  or  not,  I  cannot  decide  ;  yet  one 
thing  I  can  vouch  to  be  true,  that  whether  his  motives  and  his  life  be  as  pure 
as  he  pretends  or  not,  his  example  has  done  much  towards  correcting  the  habits 
of  his  people,  and  has  effectually  turned  their  attention  from  the  destructive 
habits  of  dissipation  and  vice,  to  temperance  and  industry,  in  the  pursuits  of 
agriculture  and  the  arts.  The  world  may  still  be  unwilling  to  allow  him 
much  credit  for  this,  but  I  am  ready  to  award  him  a  great  deal,  who  can  by 
his  influence  thus  far  arrest  the  miseries  of  dissipation  and  the  horrid  de 
formities  of  vice,  in  the  descending  prospects  of  a  nation  who  have  so  long 
had,  and  still  have,  the  white-skin  teachers  of  vices  and  dissipation  amongst 
them. 

Besides  these  two  chiefs,  I  have  also  painted  Ma-shee-na  (the  elk's  horn), 
Ke-chim-qua  (the  big  bear),  warriors,  and  Ah-tee-wot-o-mee,  and  She-nah- 
wee,  women  of  the  same  tribe,  whose  portraits  are  in  the  Gallery. 

WEE-AHS. 

These  are  also  the  remnant  of  a  once  powerful  tribe,  and  reduced  by  the 
same  causes,  to  the  number  of  200.  This  tribe  formerly  lived  in  the  State 
of  Indiana,  and  have  been  moved  with  the  Piankeshaws,  to  a  position  forty 
or  fifty  miles  south  of  Fort  Leaven  worth. 

Go-to-kow-pah-a  (he  who  stands  by  himself,  PLATE  187),  and  Wa-pon- 
je-a  (the  swan),  are  two  of  the  most  distinguished  warriors  of  the  tribe, 
both  with  intelligent  European  heads. 

POT-O-WAT-O-MIES. 

The  remains  of  a  tribe  who  were  once  very  numerous  and  warlike,  but 
reduced  by  whiskey  and  small-pox,  to  their  present  number,  which  is  not 
more  than  2700.  This  tribe  may  be  said  to  be  semi-civilized,  inasmuch 

o2 


100 

as  they  have  so  long  lived  in  contiguity  with  white  people,  with  whom 
their  blood  is  considerably  mixed,  and  whose  modes  and  whose  manners 
they  have  in  many  respects  copied.  From  a  similarity  of  language  as 
well  as  of  customs  and  personal  appearance,  there  is  no  doubt  that  they 
have  formerly  been  a  part  of  the  great  tribe  of  Chippeways  or  Ot-ta-was, 
living  neighbours  and  adjoining  to  them,  on  the  North.  This  tribe  live 
within  the  state  of  Michigan,  and  there  own  a  rich  and  very  valuable 
tract  of  land ;  which,  like  the  Kickapoos,  they  are  selling  out  to  the  Go 
vernment,  and  about  to  remove  to  the  west  bank  of  the  Missouri,  where 
a  part  of  the  tribe  have  already  gone  and  settled,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Leavenworth.  Of  this  tribe  I  have  painted  the  portraits  of  On-saw-kie 
(the  Sac,  PLATE  189),  in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  and  Na-pow-sa  (the  Bear 
travelling  in  the  night,)  PLATE  190,  one  of  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  tribe. 
These  people  have  for  some  time  lived  neighbours  to,  and  somewhat  under 
the  influence  of  the  Kickapoos  ;  and  very  many  of  the  tribe  have  become 
zealous  disciples  of  the  Kickapoo  prophet,  using  his  prayers  most  devoutly, 
and  in  the  manner  that  I  have  already  described,  as  is  seen  in  the  first 
of  the  two  last-named  portraits. 

KAS-KAS-KI-AS. 

This  is  the  name  of  a  tribe  that  formerly  occupied,  and  of  course  owned, 
a  vast  tract  of  country  lying  on  the  East  of  the  Mississippi,  and  between 
its  banks  and  the  Ohio,  and  now  forming  a  considerable  portion  of  the  great 
and  populous  state  of  Illinois.  History  furnishes  us  a  full  and  extraordinary 
account  of  the  once  warlike  character  and  numbers  of  this  tribe ;  and  also 
of  the  disastrous  career  that  they  have  led,  from  their  first  acquaintance 
with  civilized  neighbours;  whose  rapacious  avarice  in  grasping  for  their 
fine  lands — with  the  banes  of  whiskey  and  small-pox,  added  to  the  unex 
ampled  cruelty  of  neighbouring  hostile  tribes,  who  have  struck  at  them  in 
the  days  of  their  adversity,  and  helped  to  erase  them  from  existence. 

Perhaps  there  has  been  no  other  tribe  on  the  Continent  of  equal  power 
with  the  Kas-kas-ki-as,  that  hare  so  suddenly  sank  down  to  complete  an 
nihilation  and  disappeared.  The  remnant  of  this  tribe  have  long  since  merged 
into  the  tribe  of  Peorias  of  Illinois ;  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  one  dozen 
of  them  are  now  existing.  With  the  very  few  remnants  of  this  tribe  will 
die  in  a  few  years  a  beautiful  language,  entirely  distinct  from  all  others 
about  it,  unless  some  enthusiastic  person  may  preserve  it  from  the  lips  of 
those  few  who  are  yet  able  to  speak  it.  Of  this  tribe  I  painted  Kee-mon- 
saw  (the  little  chief),  half-civilized,  and,  I  should  think,  half-breed  (PLATE 
191  ;)  and  Wah-pe-seh-see  (PLATE  192),  a  very  aged  woman,  mother  of  the 
same. 

This  young  man  is  chief  of  the  tribe ;  and  I  was  told  by  one  of  the 
Traders,  that  his  mother  and  his  son,  were  his  only  subjects  !  Whether 
this  be  true  or  not,  I  cannot  positively  say,  though  I  can  assert  with  safety, 


\  / 


Li)  3 


Cr.  diHin 


L96 


101 

that  there  are  but  a  very  few  of  them  left,  and  that  those,  like  all  of  the  last 
of  tribes,  will  soon  die  of  dissipation  or  broken  hearts. 

PE-O-RI-AS. 

The  name  of  another  tribe  inhabiting  a  part  of  the  state  of  Illinois;  and,  like 
the  above  tribes,  but  a  remnant  and  civilized  (or  cicatrized,  to  speak  more 
correctly).  This  tribe  number  about  200,  and  are,  like  most  of  the  other 
remnants  of  tribes  on  the  frontiers,  under  contract  to  move  to  the  West  of 
the  Missouri.  Of  this  tribe  I  painted  the  portrait  of  Pah-me-cow-e-tah 
(the  man  who  tracks,  PLATE  193) ;  and  Kee-mo-ra-ni-a  (no  English, 
PLATE  194).  These  are  said  to  be  the  most  influential  men  in  the  tribe, 
and  both  were  very  curiously  and  well  dressed,  in  articles  of  civilized  manu 
facture. 

PI-AN-KE-SHAWS. 

The  remnant  of  another  tribe,  of  the  states  of  Illinois  and  Indiana,  who  have 
also  recently  sold  out  their  country  to  Government,  and  are  under  contract 
to  move  to  the  West  of  the  Missouri,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Leavenworth. 
Ni-a-co-mo  (to  fix  with  the  foot,  PLATE  195),  a  brave  of  distinction;  and 
Men-son-se-ah  (the  left  hand,  PLATE  196),  a  fierce-looking  and  very  dis 
tinguished  warrior,  with  a  stone-hatchet  in  his  hand,  are  fair  specimens  of 
this  reduced  and  enfeebled  tribe,  which  do  not  number  more  than  170  per 
sons  at  this  time. 

DELAWARES. 

The  very  sound  of  this  name  has  carried  terror  wherever  it  has  been  heard 
in  the  Indian  wilderness  ;  and  it  has  travelled  and  been  known,  as  well  as 
the  people,  over  a  very  great  part  of  the  Continent.  This  tribe  originally 
occupied  a  great  part  of  the  Eastern  border  of  Pennsylvania,  and  great  part 
of  the  states  of  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  No  other  tribe  on  the  Continent 
has  been  so  much  moved  and  jostled  about  by  civilized  invasions ;  and  none 
have  retreated  so  far,  or  fought  their  way  so  desperately,  as  they  have 
honourably  and  bravely  contended  for  every  foot  of  the  ground  they  have 
passed  over.  From  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  to  the  lovely  Susquehana, 
and  my  native  valley,  and  to  the  base  of  and  over,  the  Alleghany  moun 
tains,  to  the  Ohio  river — to  the  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi,  and  at  last  to 
the  West  of  the  Missouri,  they  have  been  moved  by  Treaties  after  Treaties 
with  the  Government,  who  have  now  assigned  to  the  mere  handful  of  them 
that  are  left,  a  tract  of  land,  as  has  been  done  a  dozen  times  before,  mfee 
simple,  for  ever !  In  every  move  the  poor  fellows  have  made,  they  have 
been  thrust  against  their  wills  from  the  graves  of  their  fathers  and  their 
children  ;  and  planted  as  they  now  are,«-on  the  borders  of  new  enemies, 
where  their  first  occupation  has  been  to  take  up  their  weapons  in  self-de 
fence,  and  fi^ht  for  the  ground  they  have  been  planted  on.  There  is  no 


102 

tribe,  perhaps,  amongst  which  greater  and  more  continued  exertions  have 
been  made  for  their  conversion  to  Christianity  ;  and  that  ever  since  the 
zealous  efforts  of  the  Moravian  missionaries,  who  first  began  with  them  ; 
nor  any,  amongst  whom  those  pious  and  zealous  efforts  have  been  squan 
dered  more  in  vain  ;  which  has,  probably,  been  owing  to  the  bad  faith  with 
which  they  have  so  often  and  so  continually  been  treated  by  white  people, 
which  has  excited  prejudices  that  have  stood  in  the  way  of  their  mental 
improvement. 

This  scattered  and  reduced  tribe,  which  once  contained  some  10  or 
15,000,  numbers  at  this  time  but  800  ;  and  the  greater  part  of  them  have 
been  for  the  fifty  or  sixty  years  past,  residing  in  Ohio  and  Indiana.  In 
these  states,  their  reservations  became  surrounded  by  white  people,  whom 
they  dislike  for  neighbours,  and  their  lands  too  valuable  for  Indians — and 
the  certain  consequence  has  been,  that  they  have  sold  out  and  taken  lands 
West  of  the  Mississippi ;  on  to  which  they  have  moved,  and  on  which  it  is, 
and  always  will  be,  almost  impossible  to  find  them,  owing  to  their  desperate 
disposition  for  roaming  about,  indulging  in  the  chase,  and  in  wars  with  their 
enemies. 

The  wild  frontier  on  which  they  are  now  placed,  affords  them  so  fine  an 
opportunity  to  indulge  both  of  these  propensities,  that  they  will  be  con 
tinually  wandering  in  little  and  desperate  parties  over  the  vast  buffalo  plains, 
and  exposed  to  their  enemies,  till  at  last  the  new  country,  which  is  given  to 
them,  in  "  fee  simple,  for  ever,"  and  which  is  destitute  of  game,  will  be 
deserted,  and  they,  like  the  most  of  the  removed  remnants  of  tribes,  will  be 
destroyed ;  and  the  faith  of  the  Government  well  preserved,  which  has 
offered  this  as  their  last  move,  and  these  lands,  as  theirs  in  fee  simple, 
jfor  ever. 

In  my  travels  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  I 
learned  to  my  utter  astonishment,  that  little  parties  of  these  adventurous 
myrmidons,  of  only  six  or  eight  in  numbers,  had  visited  those  remote  tribes, 
at  2000  miles  distance  ;  and  in  several  instances,  after  having  cajoled  a  whole 
tribe — having  been  feasted  in  their  villages — having  solemnized  the  articles 
of  everlasting  peace  with  them,  and  received  many  presents  at  their  hands, 
and  taken  affectionate  leave,  have  brought  away  six  or  eight  scalps  with 
them ;  and  nevertheless,  braved  their  way,  and  defended  themselves  as  they 
retreated  in  safety  out  of  their  enemies'  country,  and  through  the  regions  of 
other  hostile  tribes,  where  they  managed  to  receive  the  same  honours,  and 
come  off  with  similar  trophies. 

Amongst  this  tribe  there  are  some  renowned  chiefs,  whose  lives,  if  correctly 
written,  would  be  matter  of  the  most  extraordinary  kind  for  the  reading 
world  ;  and  of  which,  it  may  be  in  my  power  at  some  future  time,  to  give 
a  more  detailed  account.  In  PLATE  197  will  be  seen  the  portrait  of  one  of 
the  leading  chiefs  of  the  tribe,  whose  name  is  Ni-co-man  (the  answer),  with 
his  bow  and  arrows  in  his  hand.  Non-on-da-gon  (PLATE  198),  with  a 


197 


198 


199 


'.Catiui. 


200 


103 

silver  ring  in  his  nose,  is  another  of  the  chiefs  of  distinction,  whose  history 
I  admired  very  much,  and  whom,  from  his  very  gentlemanly  attentions  to  me, 
I  became  much  attached  to.  In  both  of  these  instances,  their  dresses  were 
principally  of  stuffs  of  civilized  manufacture  ;  and  their  heads  were  bound 
with  vari-coloured  handkerchiefs  or  shawls,  which  were  tastefully  put  on 
like  a  Turkish  turban. 

MO-HEE-CON-NEUHS,   oa  MOHEGANS  (THE  GOOD  CANOEMEN). 

There  are  400  of  this  once  powerful  and  still  famous  tribe,  residing  near 
Green  Bay,  on  a  rich  tract  of  land  given  to  them  by  the  Government,  in  the 
territory  of  Wisconsin,  near  Winnebago  lake — on  which  they  are  living 
very  comfortably  ;  having  brought  with  them  from  their  former  country,  in 
the  state  of  Massachusetts,  a  knowledge  of  agriculture,  which  they  had 
there  effectually  learned  and  practiced. 

This  tribe  are  the  remains,  and  all  that  are  left,  of  the  once  powerful  and 
celebrated  tribe  of  Pequots  of  Massachusetts.  History  tells  us,  that  in  their 
wars  and  dissensions  with  the  whites,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  tribe 
moved  off  under  the  command  of  a  rival  chief,  and  established  a  separate 
tribe  or  band,  and  took  the  name  of  Mo-hee-con-neuhs,  which  they  have 
preserved  until  the  present  day  ;  the  rest  of  the  tribe  having  long  since 
been  extinct. 

The  chief  of  this  tribe,  Ee-tow-o-kaum  (both  sides  of  the  river,  PLATE 
199),  which  I  have  painted  at  full  length,  with  a  psalm-book  in  one  hand, 
and  a  cane  in  the  other,  is  a  very  shrewd  and  intelligent  man,  and  a  pro 
fessed,  and  I  think,  sincere  Christian.  Waun-naw-con  (the  dish),  John 
W.  Quinney  (PLATE  200),  in  civilized  dress,  is  a  civilized  Indian,  well- 
educated — speaking  good  English — is  a  Baptist  missionary  preacher,  and  a 
very  plausible  and  eloquent  speaker. 

O-NEI-DA'S. 

The  remnant  of  a  numerous  tribe  that  have  been  destroyed  by  wars  with 
the  whites — by  whiskey  and  small-pox,  numbering  at  present  but  five  or 
six  hundred,  and  living  in  the  most  miserable  poverty,  on  their  reserve  in 
the  state  of  New  York,  near  Utica  and  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk  river. 
This  tribe  was  one  of  the  confederacy,  called  the  Six  Nations,  and  much 
distinguished  in  the  early  history  of  New  York.  The  present  chief  is  known 
by  the  name  of  Bread  (PLATE  201).  He  is  a  shrewd  and  talented  man, 
well  educated, — speaking  good  English — is  handsome,  and  a  polite  and 
gentlemanly  man  in  his  deportment. 

TUS-KA-RO-RA'S. 

Another  of  the  tribes  in  the  confederacy  of  the  Six  Nations,  once  numerous, 
but  reduced  at  present  to  the  number  of  500.  This  little  tribe  are  living  on 
their  reserve,  a  fine  tract  of  land,  ne?ir  Buffalo,  in  the  state  of  New  York, 


104 

and  surrounded  by  civilized  settlements.     Many  of  them  are  good  farmers, 
raising  abundant  and  fine  crops. 

The  chief  of  the  tribe  is  a  very  dignified  man,  by  the  name  of  Cu-sick, 
and  his  son,  of  the  same  name,  whom  I  have  painted  (PLATE  202),  is  a  very 
talented  man — has  been  educated  for  the  pulpit  in  some  one  of  our  public 
institutions,  and  is  now  a  Baptist  preacher,  and  I  am  told  a  very  eloquent 
speaker. 

SEN-E-CA'S. 

One  thousand  two  hundred  in  numbers  at  present,  living  on  their  reserve, 
near  Buffalo,  and  within  a  few  miles  of  Niagara  Falls,  in  the  state  of  New 
York.  This  tribe  formerly  lived  on  the  banks  of  the  Seneca  and  Cayuga 
lakes  ;  but,  like  all  the  other  tribes  who  have  stood  in  the  way  of  the 
"  march  of  civilization,"  have  repeatedly  bargained  away  their  country,  and 
removed  to  the  West ;  which  easily  accounts  for  the  origin  of  the  familiar 
phrase  that  is  used  amongst  them,  that  "  they  are  going  to  the  setting  sun." 
This  tribe,  when  first  known  to  the  civilized  world,  contained  some  eight 
or  ten  thousand ;  and  from  their  position  in  the  centre  of  the  slate  of  New 
York,  held  an  important  place  in  its  history.  The  Senecas  were  one  of  the 
most  numerous  and  effective  tribes,  constituting  the  compact  called  the  "  Six 
Nations;"  which  was  a  confederacy  formed  by  six  tribes,  who  joined  in  a 
league  as  an  effective  mode  of  gaining  strength,  and  preserving  themselves 
by  combined  efforts  which  would  be  sufficiently  strong  to  withstand  the  assaults 
of  neighbouring  tribes,  or  to  resist  the  incursions  of  white  people  in  their 
country.  This  confederacy  consisted  of  the  Senecas,  Oneidas,  Onondagas, 
Cayugas,  Mohawks,  and  Tuskaroras  ;  and  until  the  innovations  of  white 
people,  with  their  destructive  engines  of  war — with  whiskey  and  small-pox, 
they  held  their  sway  in  the  country,  carrying  victory,  and  consequently  terror 
and  dismay,  wherever  they  warred.  Their  war-parties  were  fearlessly  sent 
into  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  to  Virginia,  and  even  to  the  Carolinas. 
and  victory  everywhere  crowned  their  efforts.  Their  combined  strength, 
however,  in  all  its  might,  poor  fellows,  was  not  enough  to  withstand  the  siege 
of  their  insidious  foes — a  destroying  flood  that  has  risen  and  advanced,  like  a 
flood-tide  upon  them,  and  covered  their  country  ;  has  broken  up  their  strong 
holds,  has  driven  them  from  land  to  land  ;  and  in  their  retreat,  has  drowned 
the  most  of  them  in  its  waves. 

The  Senecas  are  the  most  numerous  remnant  of  this  compact ;  and  have 
at  their  head  an  aged  and  very  distinguished  chief,  familiarly  known 
throughout  the  United  States,  by  the  name  of  Red  Jacket  (PLATE  205).  I 
painted  this  portrait  from  the  life,  in  the  costume  in  which  he  is  represented  ; 
and  indulged  him  also,  in  the  wish  he  expressed,  "  that  he  might  be  seen 
standing  on  the  Table  Rock,  at  the  Falls  of  Niagara  ;  about  which  place  he 
thought  his  spirit  would  linger  after  he  was  dead." 

Good  Hunter  (PLATE  203),   and   Hard  Hickory  (PLATE  204),  are  fair 


201 


G-.CatUn. 


•    203 


204 


105 

specimens  of  the  warriors  of  this  tribe  or  rather  hunters ;  or  perhaps,  still  more 
correctly  speak  ing,  farmers;  for  the  Senecas  have  had  no  battles  to  fight 
lately,  and  very  little  game  to  kill,  except  squirrels  and  pheasants  ;  and  their 
hands  are  turned  to  the  plough,  having  become,  most  of  them,  tolerable 
farmers ;  raising  the  necessaries,  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of  life,  from 
the  soil. 

Of  this  interesting  tribe,  the  visitors  to  my  Gallery  will  find  several  other 
portraits  and  paintings  of  their  customs ;  and  in  books  that  have  been  writ 
ten,  and  are  being  compiled,  a  much  more  able  and  faithful  account  than  I 
can  give  in  an  epistle  of  this  kind. 

The  fame  as  well  as  the  face  of  Red  Jacket,  is  generally  familiar  to  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  and  the  Canadas ;  and  for  the  information  of 
those  who  have  not  known  him,  I  will  briefly  say,  that  he  has  been  for  many 
years  the  head  chief  of  the  scattered  remnants  of  that  once  powerful  compact, 
the  Six  Nations  ;  a  part  of  whom  reside  on  their  reservations  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Senecas,  amounting  perhaps  in  all,  to  about  four  thousand,  and  own 
ing  some  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  fine  lands.  Of  this  Confederacy, 
the  Mohawks  and  Cayugas,  chiefly  emigrated  to  Canada,  some  fifty  years 
ago,  leaving  the  Senecas,  the  Tuskaroras,  Oneidas,  and  Onondagas  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  on  fine  tracts  of  lands,  completely  surrounded  with 
white  population  ;  who  by  industry  and  enterprize,  are  making  the  Indian 
lands  too  valuable  to  be  long  in  their  possession,  who  will  no  doubt  be  in 
duced  to  sell  out  to  the  Government,  or,  in  other  words,  to  exchange  them 
for  lands  West  of  the  Mississippi,  where  it  is  the  avowed  intention  of  the 
Government  to  remove  all  the  border  tribes.* 

Red  Jacket  has  been  reputed  one  of  the  greatest  orators  of  his  day  ;  and, 
no  doubt,  more  distinguished  for  his  eloquence  and  his  influence  in  council, 
than  as  a  warrior,  in  which  character  I  think  history  has  not  said  much  of 
him.  This  may  be  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  fact  that  the  wars  of 
his  nation  were  chiefly  fought  before  his  fighting  days  ;  and  that  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  and  his  talents  have  been  spent  with  his  tribe,  during  its 
downfall ;  where,  instead  of  the  horrors  of  Indian  wars,  they  have  had  a 
more  fatal  and  destructive  enemy  to  encounter,  in  the  insidious  encroach 
ments  of  pale  faces,  which  he  has  been  for  many  years  exerting  his  eloquence 
and  all  his  talents  to  resist.  Poor  old  chief — not  all  the  eloquence  of  Cicero 
and  Demosthenes  would  be  able  to  avert  the  calamity,  that  awaits  his  de 
clining  nation — to  resist  the  despoiling  hand  of  mercenary  white  man,  that 
opens  and  spreads  liberally,  but  to  entrap  the  unwary  and  ignorant  within 
its  withering  grasp. 

This  talented  old  man  has  for  many  years  past,  strenuously  remonstrated 

1  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  Senecas  and  all  the  other  remnants  of  the  Six  Nations 
residing  in  the  state  of  New  York,  have  agreed  in  Treaties  with  the  United  States  to  re 
move  to  tracts  of  country  assigned  them,  West  of  the  Mississippi,  twelve  hundred  miles 
irom  their  reservations  in  the  state  of  New  York. 

V"I..    II.  P 


106 

both  to  the  Governor  of  New  York,  and  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
against  the  continual  encroachments  of  white  people  ;  whom  he  represented 
as  using  every  endeavour  to  wrest  from  them  their  lands — to  destroy  their 
game,  introducing  vices  of  a  horrible  character,  and  unknown  to  his  people 
by  nature  !  and  most  vehemently  of  all,  has  he  continually  remonstrated 
against  the  preaching  of  missionaries  in  his  tribe  ;  alleging,  that  the  "  black 
coats"  (as  he  calls  the  clergymen),  did  more  mischief  than  good  in 
his  tribe,  by  creating  doubts  and  dissensions  amongst  his  people !  which  are 
destructive  of  his  peace,  and  dangerous  to  the  success,  and  even  existence  of 
his  tribe.  Like  many  other  great  men  who  endeavour  to  soothe  broken  and 
painful  feelings,  by  the  kindness  of  the  bottle,  he  has  long  since  taken  up 
whiskey-drinking  to  excess  ;  and  much  of  his  time,  lies  drunk  in  his  cabin, 
or  under  the  corner  of  a  fence,  or  wherever  else  its  kindness  urges  the  neces 
sity  of  his  dropping  his  helpless  body  and  limbs,  to  indulge  in  the  delightful 
spell.  He  is  as  great  a  drunkard  as  some  of  our  most  distinguished  law 
givers  and  law-makers ;  and  yet  ten  times  more  culpable,  as  he  has  little 
to  do  in  life,  and  wields  the  destinies  of  a  nation  in  his  hands  !* 

There  are  no  better  people  to  be  found,  than  the  Seneca  Indians — none 
that  I  know  of  that  are  by  Nature  more  talented  and  ingenious  ;  nor  any 
that  would  be  found  to  be  better  neighbours,  if  the  arts  and  abuses  of  white 
men  and  whiskey,  could  be  kept  away  from  them.  They  have  mostly  laid 
down  their  hunting  habits,  and  become  efficient  farmers,  raising  fine  crops  of 
corn,  and  a  great  abundance  of  hogs,  cattle  and  horses,  and  other  necessaries 
and  luxuries  of  life. 

I-RO-QUOIS. 

One  of  the  most  numerous  and  powerful  tribes  that  ever  existed  in  the 
Northern  regions  of  our  country,  and  now  one  of  the  most  completely  an 
nihilated.  This  tribe  occupied  a  vast  tract  of  country  on  the  River  St.  Law 
rence,  between  its  banks  and  Lake  Champlain ;  and  at  times,  by  conquest, 
actually  over-run  the  whole  country,  from  that  to  the  shores  of  Lakes  Erie, 
Huron,  and  Michigan.  But  by  their  continual  wars  with  the  French, 
English,  and  Indians,  and  dissipation  and  disease,  they  have  been  almost 
entirely  annihilated.  The  few  remnants  of  them  have  long  since  merged 
into  other  tribes,  and  been  mostly  lost  sight  of.f  Of  this  tribe  I  have 

*  This  celebrated  chief  died  several  years  since,  in  his  village  near  Buffalo  ;  and  since 
his  death  our  famous  comedian,  Mr.  Placide,  has  erected  a  handsome  and  appropriate 
monument  over  his  grave  ;  and  I  am  pleased  also  to  learn,  that  my  friend  Wm.  L.  Stone, 
Esq.,  is  building  him  a  still  more  lasting  one  in  history,  which  he  is  compiling,  of  the  life 
of  this  extraordinary  man,  to  an  early  perusal  of  which,  I  can  confidently  refer  the  world 
for  much  curious  and  valuable  information. 

t  The  whole  of  the  Sir  Nations  have  been  by  some  writers  denominated  Iroquois — how 
correct  this  may  be,  I  am  not  quite  able  to  say  ;  one  thing  is  certain,  that  is,  that  the  Iro 
quois  tribe  did  not  all  belong  to  that  Confederacy,  their  original  country  was  on  the  shores 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  and,  although  one  branch  of  their  nation,  the  Mohawks,  formed  a 
part,  and  the  most  effective  portion  of  that  compact,  yet  the  other  members  of  it  spoke 


&.Ca.tLin. 


2Q6 


Myen&Csc 


107 

painted  but  one,  Not-o-way  (the  thinker,  PLATE  206).  This  was  an  ex 
cellent  man,  and  was  handsomely  dressed  for  his  picture.  I  had  much  con 
versation  with  him,  and  became  very  much  attached  to  him.  He  seemed  to 
be  quite  ignorant  of  the  early  history  of  his  tribe,  as  well  as  of  the  position 
and  condition  of  its  few  scattered  remnants,  who  are  yet  in  existence.  He  told 
me,  however,  that  he  had  always  learned  that  the  Iroquois  had  conquered 
nearly  all  the  world  ;  but  the  Great  Spirit  being  offended  at  the  great  slaugh 
ters  by  his  favourite  people,  resolved  to  punish  them  ;  and  he  sent  a  dreadful 
disease  amongst  them,  that  carried  the  most  of  them  off,  and  all  the  rest  that 
could  be  found,  were  killed  by  their  enemies — that  though  he  was  an  Iroquois, 
which  he  was  proud  to  acknowledge  to  me,  as  I  was  to  "  make  him  live 
after  he  was  dead  ;"  he  fished  it  to  be  generally  thought,  that  he  was  a 
Chippeway,  that  he  might  live  as  long  as  the  Great  Spirit  had  wished  it 
when  he  made  him.* 

different  languages  ;  and  a  great  part  of  the  Iroquois  moved  their  settlements  further 
North  and  East,  instead  of  joining  in  the  continual  wars  carried  on  by  the  Six  Nations.  It 
is  of  this  part  of  the  tribe  that  I  am  speaking,  when  I  mention  them  as  nearly  extinct :  and 
it  is  from  this  branch  of  the  family  that  I  got  the  portrait  which  I  have  introduced  above. 
*  Since  the  above  Letter  was  written,  all  the  tribes  and  remnants  of  tribes  mentioned  in 
it  have  been  removed  by  the  Government,  to  lands  West  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri, 
given  to  them,  in  addition  to  considerable  annuities,  in  consideration  for  the  immense 
tracts  of  country  they  have  left  on  the  frontier,  and  within  the  States.  The  present 
positions  of  these  tribes,  and  their  relative  locations  to  the  civilized  frontier  and  the  wild, 
unjostled  tribes,  can  be  seen  on  a  map  in  the  beginning  of  this  Volume.  There  are  also 
other  tribes  there  laid  down,  who  have  also  been  removed  by  Treaty  stipulations,  in  the 
same  way,  which  are  treated  of  in  subsequent  Letters.  The  Government,  under  General 
Jackson,  strenuously  set  forth  and  carried  out,  the  policy  of  removing  all  the  semi-civi 
lized  and  border  Indians,  to  a  country  West  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  although  the  project 
had  many  violent  opponents,  yet  there  were  very  many  strong  reasons  in  favour  of  it,  and 
the  thing  has  been  at  last  done  ;  and  a  few  years  will  decide,  by  the  best  of  all  arguments, 
whether  the  policy  was  a  good  one  or  not.  I  may  have  occasion  to  say  more  on  this  sub 
ject  hereafter  ;  and  in  the  mean  time  recommend  the  reader  to  examine  their  relative 
positions,  and  contemplate  their  prospects  between  their  mortal  foes  on  the  West,  and 
their  acquisitive  friends  following  them  up  from  the  East. 


108 


LETTER— No.  48. 


ST.  LOUIS. 

WHILST  I  am  thus  taking  a  hasty  glance  aV  the  tribes  on  the  Atlantic 
Coast,  on  the  borders  of  Mexico,  and  the  confines  of  Canada,  the  reader  will 
pardon  me  for  taking  him  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
on  the  Pacific  Coast;  which  place  I  have  not  yet  quite  reached  myself,  in 
my  wild  rambles,  but  most  undoubtedly  shall  ere  long,  if  my  strolling  career 
be  not  suddenly  stopped.  I  scarcely  need  tell  the  reader  where  the  Colum 
bia  River  is,  since  its  course  and  its  character  have  been  so  often,  and  so 
well  described,  by  recent  travellers  through  those  regions.  I  can  now  but 
glance  at  this  remote  country  and  its  customs  ;  and  revert  to  it  again  after  I 
shall  have  examined  it  in  all  its  parts,  and  collected  my  materials  for  a  fuller 
account. 

FLAT   HEADS. 

These  are  a  very  numerous  people,  inhabiting  the  shores  of  the  Columbia 
River,  and  a  vast  tract  of  country  lying  to  the  South  of  it,  and  living  in  a 
country  which  is  exceedingly  sterile  and  almost  entirely,  in  many  parts, 
destitute  of  game  for  the  subsistence  of  the  savage ;  they  are  mostly  obliged 
to  live  on  roots,  which  they  dig  from  the  ground,  and  fish  which  they  take 
from  the  streams ;  the  consequences  of  which  are,  that  they  are  generally 
poor  and  miserably  clad ;  and  in  no  respect  equal  to  the  Indians  of  whom  I 
have  heretofore  spoken,  who  live  on  the  East  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in 
the  ranges  of  the  buffaloes;  where  they  are  well-fed,  and  mostly  have  good 
horses  to  ride,  and  materials  in  abundance  for  manufacturing  their  beautiful 
and  comfortable  dresses. 

The  people  generally  denominated  Flat  Heads,  are  divided  into  a  great 
many  bands,  and  although  they  have  undoubtedly  got  their  name  from  the 
custom  of  flattening  the  head  ;  yet  there  are  but  very  few  of  those  so  deno 
minated,  who  actually  practice  that  extraordinary  custom. 

The  Nez  Perces  who  inhabit  the  upper  waters  and  mountainous  parts  of 
the  Columbia,  are  a  part  of  this  tribe,  though  they  are  seldom  known  to 
flatten  the  head  like  those  lower  down,  and  about  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
Hee-oh'ks-te-kin  (the  rabbit  skin  leggings,  PLATE  207),  and  H'co-a-h'co  a- 
h'cotes-min  (no  horns  on  his  head,  PLATE  208),  are  young  men  of  this  tribe. 
These  two  young  men,  when  I  painted  them,  were  in  beautiful  Sioux  dresses, 


209 


210 


109 

which  had  been  presented  to  them  in  a  talk  with  the  Sioux,  who  treated 
them  very  kindly,  while  passing  through  the  Sioux  country.  These  two  men 
were  part  of  a  delegation  that  came  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  St. 
Louis,  a  few  years  since,  to  enquire  for  the  truth  of  a  representation  which 
they  said  some  white  man  had  made  amongst  them,  "  that  our  religion  was 
better  than  theirs,  and  that  they  would  all  be  lost  if  they  did  not  embrace  it." 

Two  old  and  venerable  men  of  this  party  died  in  St.  Louis,  and  I  travelled 
two  thousand  miles,  companion  with  these  two  young  fellows,  towards  their 
own  country,  and  became  much  pleased  with  their  manners  and  dispositions. 

The  last  mentioned  of  the  two,  died  near  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone 
River  on  his  way  home,  with  disease  which  he  had  contracted  in  the  civi 
lized  district ;  and  the  other  one  I  have  since  learned,  arrived  safely  amongst 
his  friends,  conveying  to  them  the  melancholy  intelligence  of  the  deaths  of 
all  the  rest  of  his  party ;  but  assurances  at  the  same  time,  from  General 
Clark,  and  many  Reverend  gentlemen,  that  the  report  which  they  had  heard 
was  well  founded  ;  and  that  missionaries,  good  and  religious  men,  would  soon 
come  amongst  them  to  teach  this  religion,  so  that  they  could  all  understand 
and  have  the  benefits  of  it. 

When  I  first  heard  the  report  of  the  object  of  this  extraordinary  mission 
across  the  mountains,  I  could  scarcely  believe  it ;  but  on  conversing  with 
General  Clark  on  a  future  occasion,  I  was  fully  convinced  of  the  fact;  and 
I,  like  thousands  of  others,  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing  the  com 
plete  success  that  has  crowned  the  bold  and  daring  exertions  of  Mr.  Lee  and 
Mr.  Spalding,  two  Reverend  gentlemen  who  have  answered  in  a  Christian 
manner  to  this  unprecedented  call  ;  and  with  their  wives  have  crossed  the 
most  rugged  wilds  and  wildernesses  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  trium 
phantly  proved  to  the  world,  that  the  Indians,  in  their  native  wilds  are  a 
kind  and  friendly  people,  and  susceptible  of  mental  improvement. 

1  had  long  been  of  the  opinion,  that  to  ensure  success,  the  exertions  of  pious 
men  should  be  carried  into  the  heart  of  the  wilderness,  beyond  the  reach  and 
influence  of  civilized  vices  ;  and  I  so  expressed  my  opinion  to  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Spalding  and  his  lady,  in  Pittsburgh,  when  on  their  way,  in  their  first 
Tour  to  that  distant  country.  I  have  seen  the  Reverend  Mr.  Lee  and  several 
others  of  the  mission,  several  years  since  the  formation  of  their  school;  as 
well  as  several  gentlemen  who  have  visited  their  settlement,  and  from  all,  I 
am  fully  convinced  of  the  complete  success  of  these  excellent  and  persever 
ing  gentlemen,  in  proving  to  the  world  the  absurdity  of  the  assertion  that 
has  been  often  made,  "  that  the  Indian  can  never  be  civilized  or  christian 
ized."  Their  uninterrupted  transit  over  such  a  vast  and  wild  journey,  also, 
with  their  wives  on  horseback,  who  were  everywhere  on  their  way,  as  well  as 
amongst  the  tribes  where  they  have  located,  treated  with  the  utmost  kind 
ness  and  respect,  bears  strong  testimony  to  the  assertions  so  often  made  by 
travellers  in  those  countries,  that  these  are,  in  their  native  state,  a  kind  and 
excellent  people. 


110 

I  hope  I  shall  on  a  future  occasion,  be  able  to  give  the  reader  some  further 
detailed  account  of  the  success  of  these  zealous  and  excellent  men,  whose 
example,  of  penetrating  to  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country,  and  there  teach 
ing  the  Indian  in  the  true  and  effective  way,  will  be  a  lasting  honour  to 
themselves,  and  I  fully  believe,  a  permanent  benefit  to  those  ignorant  and 
benighted  people. 

THE  CHINOOKS, 

Inhabiting  the  lower  parts  of  the  Columbia,  are  a  small  tribe,  and  correctly 
come  under  the  name  of  Flat  Heads,  as  they  are  almost  the  only  people  who 
strictly  adhere  to  the  custom  of  squeezing  and  flattening  the  head.  PLATE 
209,  is  the  portrait  of  a  Chinook  boy,  of  fifteen  or  eighteen  years  of  age,  on 
whose  head  that  frightful  operation  has  never  been  performed.  And  in 
PLATE  210,  will  be  seen  the  portrait  of  a  Chinook  woman,  with  her  child 
in  her  arms,  her  own  head  flattened,  and  the  infant  undergoing  the  process 
of  flattening  ;  which  is  done  by  placing  its  back  on  a  board,  or  thick  plank, 
to  which  it  is  lashed  with  thongs,  to  a  position  from  which  it  cannot  escape, 
and  the  back  of  the  head  supported  by  a  sort  of  pillow,  made  of  moss  or 
rabbit  skins,  with  an  inclined  piece  (as  is  seen  in  the  drawing),  resting  on 
the  forehead  of  the  child  ;  being  every  day  drawn  down  a  little  tighter  by 
means  of  a  cord,  which  holds  it  in  its  place,  until  it  at  length  touches  the 
nose ;  thus  forming  a  straight  line  from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  end  of 
the  nose. 

This  process  is  seemingly  a  very  cruel  one,  though  I  doubt  whether 
it  causes  much  pain;  as  it  is  done  in  earliest  infancy,  whilst  the  bones 
are  soft  and  cartilaginous,  and  easily  pressed  into  this  distorted  shape, 
by  forcing  the  occipital  up,  and  the  frontal  down  ;  so  that  the  skull  at  the 
top,  in  profile,  will  show  a  breadth  of  not  more  than  an  inch  and  a  half,  or 
two  inches  ;  when  in  a  front  view  it  exhibits  a  great  expansion  on  the  sides, 
making  it  at  the  top,  nearly  the  width  of  one  and  a  half  natural  heads. 

By  this  remarkable  operation,  the  brain  is  singularly  changed  from  its 
natural  shape ;  but  in  all  probability,  not  in  the  least  diminished  or  injured 
in  its  natural  functions.  This  belief  is  drawn  from  the  testimony  of  many 
credible  witnesses,  who  have  closely  scrutinized  them  ;  and  ascertained  that 
those  who  have  the  head  flattened,  are  in  no  way  inferior  in  intellectual 
powers  to  those  whose  heads  are  in  their  natural  shapes. 

In  the  process  of  flattening  the  head,  there  is  often  another  form  of  crib 
or  cradle,  into  which  the  child  is  placed,  much  in  the  form  of  a  small  canoe, 
dug  out  of  a  log  of  wood,  with  a  cavity  just  large  enough  to  admit  the  body 
of  the  child,  and  the  head  also,  giving  it  room  to  expand  in  width  ;  while 
from  the  head  of  the  cradle  there  is  a  sort  of  lever,  with  an  elastic  spring  to 
it  that  comes  down  on  the  forehead  of  the  child,  and  produces  the  same 
effects  as  the  one  I  have  above  described. 

The  child  is  wrapped  in  rabbits'  skins,  and  placed  in  this  little  coffin-like 


x2:^ri/ /ir-^/rr^^^^r^ 


210V2 


Ill 

looking  cradle,  from  which  it  is  not,  in  some  instances,  taken  out  for  several 
weeks.  The  bandages  over  and  about  the  lower  limbs,  and  as  high  up  as 
the  breast,  are  loose,  and  repeatedly  taken  off  in  the  same  day,  as  the 
child  may  require  cleansing ;  but  the  head  and  shoulders  are  kept  strictly 
in  the  same  position,  and  the  breast  given  to  the  child  by  holding  it  up  in 
the  cradle,  loosing  the  outer  end  of  the  lever  that  comes  over  the  nose, 
and  raising  it  up  or  turning  it  aside,  so  as  to  allow  the  child  to  come  at  the 
breast,  without  moving  its  head. 

The  length  of  time  that  the  infants  are  generally  carried  in  these  cradles 
is  three,  five,  or  eight  weeks,  until  the  bones  are  so  formed  as  to  keep  their 
shapes,  and  preserve  this  singular  appearance  through  life. 

This  little  cradle  has  a  strap,  which  passes  over  the  woman's  forehead 
whilst  the  cradle  rides  on  her  back ;  and  if  the  child  dies  during  its  subjec 
tion  to  this  rigid  mode,  its  cradle  becomes  its  coffin,  forming  a  little  canoe, 
in  which  it  lies  floating  on  the  water  in  some  sacred  pool,  where  they  are 
often  in  the  habit  of  fastening  the  canoes,  containing  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
old  and  the  young  ;  or  which  is  often  the  case,  elevated  into  the  branches 
of  trees,  where  their  bodies  are  left  to  decay,  and  their  bones  to  dry  ; 
whilst  they  are  bandaged  in  many  skins,  and  curiously  packed  in  their 
canoes,  with  paddles  to  propel,  and  ladles  to  bail  them  out,  and  provisions 
to  last,  and  pipes  to  smoke,  as  they  are  performing  their  "  long  journey 
after  death,  to  their  contemplated  hunting-grounds,"  which  these  people 
think  is  to  be  performed  in  their  canoes. 

In  PLATE  210£  letter  a,  is  an  accurate  drawing  of  the  above-mentioned 
cradle,  perfectly  exemplifying  the  custom  described  ;  and  by  the  side  of  it 
(letter  6,)  the  drawing  of  a  Chinook  skull,  giving  the  front  and  profile  view 
of  it.  Letter  c,  in  the  same  plate,  exhibits  an  Indian  skull  in  its  natural 
shape,  to  contrast  with  the  artificial.* 

This  mode  of  flattening  the  head  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  unaccount 
able,  as  well  as  unmeaning  customs,  found  amongst  the  North  American 
Indians.  What  it  could  have  originated  in,  or  for  what  purpose,  other  than 
a  mere  useless  fashion,  it  could  have  been  invented,  no  human  being  can 
probably  ever  tell.  The  Indians  have  many  curious  and  ridiculous  fashions, 
which  have  come  into  existence,  no  doubt,  by  accident,  and  are  of  no  earthly 
use  (like  many  silly  fashions  in  enlightened  society),  yet  they  are  per 
petuated  much  longer,  and  that  only  because  their  ancestors  practiced  them 
in  ages  gone  by.  The  greater  part  of  Indian  modes,  however,  and  particularly 
those  that  are  accompanied  with  much  pain  or  trouble  in  their  enactment, 
are  most  wonderfully  adapted  to  the  production  of  some  good  or  useful  re 
sults  ;  for  which  the  inquisitive  world,  I  am  sure,  may  for  ever  look  in  vain  to 
this  stupid  and  useless  fashion,  that  has  most  unfortunately  been  engendered 
on  these  ignorant  people,  whose  superstition  forbids  them  to  lay  it  down. 

*  Besides  these,  there  are  a  number  of  other  skulls  in  the  Collection,  most  interesting 
specimens,  from  various  tribes. 


112 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  and  one  that  should  be  mentioned  here,  that  these 
people  have  not  been  alone  in  this  strange  custom  ;  but  that  it  existed  and 
was  practiced  precisely  the  same,  until  recently,  amongst  the  Choctaws  and 
Chickasaws;  who  occupied  a  large  part  of  the  states  of  Mississippi  and 
Alabama,  where  they  have  laid  their  bones,  and  hundreds  of  their  skulls 
have  been  procured,  bearing  incontrovertible  evidence  of  a  similar  treatment, 
with  similar  results. 

The  Choctaws  who  are  now  living,  do  not  flatten  the  head  ;  the  custom, 
like  that  of  the  medicine- bag,  and  many  others,  which  the  Indians  have  de 
parted  from,  from  the  assurances  of  white  people,  that  they  were  of  no  use, 
and  were  utterly  ridiculous  to  be  followed.  Whilst  amongst  the  Choctaws,  I 
could  learn  little  more  from  the  people  about  such  a  custom,  than  that  "  their 
old  men  recollected  to  have  heard  it  spoken  of" — which  is  much  less  satis 
factory  evidence  than  inquisitive  white  people  get  by  referring  to  the  grave, 
which  the  Indian  never  meddles  with.  The  distance  of  the  Choctaws  from 
the  country  of  the  Chinooks,  is  certainly  between  two  and  three  thousand 
miles  ;  and  there  being  no  intervening  tribes  practicing  the  same  custom — 
and  no  probability  that  any  two  tribes  in  a  state  of  Nature,  would  ever  hit 
upon  so  peculiar  an  absurdity,  we  come,  whether  willingly  or  not,  to  the 
conclusion,  that  these  tribes  must  at  some  former  period,  have  lived  neigh 
bours  to  each  other,  or  have  been  parts  of  the  same  family ;  which  time  and 
circumstances  have  gradually  removed  to  such  a  very  great  distance  from 
each  other.  Nor  does  this,  in  my  opinion  (as  many  suppose),  furnish  any 
very  strong  evidence  in  support  of  the  theory,  that  the  different  tribes  have 
all  sprung  from  one  stock  ;  but  carries  a  strong  argument  to  the  other  side, 
by  furnishing  proof  of  the  very  great  tenacity  these  people  have  for  their 
peculiar  customs  ;  many  of  which  are  certainly  not  general,  but  often  carried 
from  one  end  of  the  Continent  to  the  other,  or  from  ocean  to  ocean,  by 
bands  or  sections  of  tribes,  which  often  get  "  run  off"  by  their  enemies 
in  wars,  or  in  hunting,  as  I  have  before  described  ;  where  to  emigrate 
to  a  vast  distance  is  not  so  unaccountable  a  thing,  but  almost  the  inevitable 
result,  of  a  tribe  that  have  got  set  in  motion,  all  the  way  amongst  deadly 
foes,  in  whose  countries  it  would  be  fatal  to  stop. 

I  am  obliged  therefore,  to  believe,  that  either  the  Chinooks  emigrated  from 
the  Atlantic,  or  that  the  Choctaws  came  from  the  West  side  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  ;  and  I  regret  exceedingly  that  I  have  not  been  able  as  yet,  to 
compare  the  languages  of  these  two  tribes,  in  which  I  should  expect  to  find 
some  decided  resemblance.  They  might,  however,  have  been  near  neigh 
bours,  and  practicing  a  copied  custom  where  there  was  no  resemblance  in 
their  language. 

Whilst  among  the  Choctaws  I  wrote  down  from  the  lips  of  one  of  their 
chiefs,  the  following  tradition,  which  seems  strongly  to  favour  the  supposi 
tion  that  they  came  from  a  great  distance  in  the  West,  and  probably  from 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  : — Tradition.  "  The  Choctaws,  a  great  many 


113 

winters  ago,  commenced  moving  from  the  country  where  they  then  lived,  which 
was  a  great  distance  to  the  West  of  the  great  river,  and  the  mountains  of 
snow  ;  and  they  were  a  great  many  years  on  their  way.  A  great  medicine-man 
led  them  the  whole  way,  by  going  before  with  a  red  pole,  which  he  stuck  in  the 
ground  every  night  where  they  encamped.  This  pole  was  every  morning 
found  leaning  to  the  East ;  and  he  told  them  that  they  must  continue  to 
travel  to  the  East,  until  the  pole  would  stand  upright  in  their  encampment, 
and  that  there  the  Great  Spirit  had  directed  that  they  should  live.  At  a 
place  which  they  named  Nah-ne-wa-ye  (the  sloping  hill)  ;  the  pole  stood 
straight  up,  where  they  pitched  their  encampment,  which  was  one  mile  square, 
with  the  men  encamped  on  the  outside,  and  the  women  and  children  in  the 
centre ;  which  is  the  centre  of  the  old  Choctaw  nation  to  '  this  day.'  ' 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  there  are,  besides  the 
Chinnoks,  the  Klick-a-tacks,  Cheehaylas,  Na-as,  and  many  other  tribes, 
whose  customs  are  interesting,  and  of  whose  manufactures,  my  Museum  con 
tains  many  very  curious  and  interesting  specimens,  from  which  I  have 
inserted  a  few  outlines  in  PLATE  210J,  to  which  the  reader  will  refer.  Letter 
d,  is  a  correct  drawing  of  a  Chinook  canoe — e,  a  Na-as  war-canoe,  curiously 
carved  and  painted — -f,  two  dishes  or  ladles  for  baling  their  canoes — g,  a 
Stikeen  mask,  curiously  carved  and  painted,  worn  by  the  mystery-men  when 
in  councils,  for  the  purpose  of  calling  up  the  Great  or  Evil  Spirits  to  consult 
on  the  policy  of  peace  or  war — h,  custom  of  the  Na-as  women  of  wearing  a 
block  of  wood  in  the  under  lip,  which  is  almost  as  unaccountable  as  the 
custom  of  flattening  the  head.  Letter  i,  is  a  drawing  of  the  block,  and  the 
exact  dimensions  of  one  in  the  Collection,  taken  out  of  the  lip  of  a  deceased 
Na-as  woman — k,  "  wapito  diggers,"  instruments  used  by  the  women  for 
digging  the  wapito,  a  bulbous  root,  much  like  a  turnip,  which  the  French 
Traders  call  pomme  blanche,  and  which  I  have  before  described.  Letter  /, 
pau-to-mau-gons,  or  po-ko-mo-kons,  war-clubs,  the  one  made  by  the  Indians 
from  a  piece  of  native  copper,  the  other  of  the  bone  of  the  sperm  whale. 
Letter  n,  two  very  curiously  carved  pipes,  made  of  black  slate  and  highly 
polished. 

Besides  these,  the  visitor  will  find  in  the  Collection  a  great  number 
of  their  very  ingenious  articles  of  dress ;  their  culinary,  war,  and  hunting 
implements,  as  well  as  specimens  of  their  spinning  and  weaving,  by  which 
they  convert  dog's  hair  and  the  wool  of  the  mountain-sheep  into  durable  and 
splendid  robes,  the  production  of  which,  I  venture  to  say,  would  bid  defiance 
to  any  of  the  looms  in  the  American  or  British  Factories. 

The  Indians  who  inhabit  the  rugged  wildernesses  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
are  chiefly  the  Blackfeet  and  Crows,  of  whom  I  have  heretofore  spoken,  and 
the  Shoshonees  or  Snakes,  who  are  a  part  of  the  Camanchees,  speaking  the 
same  language,  and  the  Shoshokies  or  root  diggers,  who  inhabit  the  southern 
parts  of  those  vast  and  wild  realms,  with  the  Arapohoes  and  Navahoes,  who 
are  neighbours  to  the  Camanchees  on  the  West,  having  Santa  Fe  on  the 

VOL.   II. 


114 

South,  and  the  coast  of  California  on  the  West.  Of  the  Shoshonees  and 
Shoshokies,  all  travellers  who  have  spoken  of  them,  give  them  a  good  cha 
racter,  as  a  kind  and  hospitable  and  harmless  people  ;  to  which  fact  I  could 
cite  the  unquestionable  authorities  of  the  excellent  Rev.  Mr.  Parker,  who 
has  published  his  interesting  Tour  across  the  Rocky  Mountains — Lewis  and 
Clarke — Capt.  Bonneville  and  others;  and  I  allege  it  to  be  a  truth,  that  the 
reason  why  we  find  them  as  they  are  uniformly  described,  a  kind  and  inoffen 
sive  people,  is,  that  they  have  not  as  yet  been  abused — that  they  are  in  their 
primitive  state,  as  the  Great  Spirit  made  and  endowed  them  with  good 
hearts  and  kind  feelings,  unalloyed  and  untainted  by  the  vices  of  the  money- 
making  world. 

To  the  same  fact,  relative  to  the  tribes  on  the  Columbia  river,  I  have  been 
allowed  to  quote  the  authority  of  H.  Beaver,  a  very  worthy  and  kind  Reve 
rend  Gentleman  of  England,  who  has  been  for  several  years  past  living  with 
these  people,  and  writes  to  me  thus : — 

"  I  shall  be  always  ready,  with  pleasure,  to  testify  my  perfect  accordance 
with  the  sentiments  I  have  heard  you  express,  both  in  your  public  lectures, 
and  private  conversation,  relative  to  the  much-traduced  character  of  our 
Red  brethren,  particularly  as  it  relates  to  their  honesty,  hospitality  and 
peaceableness,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Columbia.  What 
ever  of  a  contrary  disposition  has  at  any  time,  in  those  parts,  been  dis 
played  by  them,  has,  I  am  persuaded  been  exotic,  and  forced  on  them  by 
the  depravity  and  impositions  of  the  white  Traders." 


115 


LETTER— No.  49. 


ST.  LOUIS. 

IN  one  of  my  last  Letters  from  Fort  Gibson,  written  some  months  since, 
I  promised  to  open  my  note-book  on  a  future  occasion,  to  give  some  further 
account  of  tribes  and  remnants  of  tribes  located  in  that  vicinity,  amongst 
whom  I  had  been  spending  some  time  with  my  pen  and  my  pencil ;  and 
having  since  that  time  extended  my  rambles  over  much  of  that  ground  again, 
and  also  through  the  regions  of  the  East  and  South  East,  from  whence 
the  most  of  those  tribes  have  emigrated  ;  I  consider  this  a  proper  time  to 
say  something  more  of  them,  and  their  customs  and  condition,  before  I  go 
farther. 

The  most  of  these,  as  I  have  said,  are  tribes  or  parts  of  tribes  which  the 
Government  has  recently,  by  means  of  Treaty  stipulations,  removed  to  that 
wild  and  distant  country,  on  to  lands  which  have  been  given  to  them  in 
exchange  for  their  valuable  possessions  within  the  States,  ten  or  twelve  hun 
dred  miles  to  the  East. 

Of  a  number  of  such  reduced  and  removed  tribes,  who  have  been  located 
West  of  the  Missouri,  and  North  of  St.  Louis,  I  have  already  spoken  in  a 
former  Letter,  and  shall  yet  make  brief  mention  of  another,  which  has  been 
conducted  to  the  same  region — and  then  direct  the  attention  of  the  reader 
to  those  which  are  settled  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Fort  Gibson,  who  are  the 
Cherokees — Creeks — Choctaws — Chickasaws — Seminoles,  and  Euchees. 

The  people  above  alluded  to  are  the 

SHA-WA-NO'S. 

The  history  of  this  once  powerful  tribe  is  so  closely  and  necessarily  con 
nected  with  that  of  the  United  States,  and  the  revolutionary  war,  that  it  is 
generally  pretty  well  understood.  This  tribe  formerly  inhabited  great  parts 
of  the  states  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  (and  for  the  last  sixty  years,)  a 
part  of  the  states  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  to  which  they  had  removed ;  and 
now,  a  considerable  portion  of  them,  a  tract  of  country  several  hundred 
miles  West  of  the  Mississippi,  which  has  been  conveyed  to  them  by  Govern 
ment  in  exchange  for  their  lands  in  Ohio,  from  which  it  is  expected  the  re 
mainder  of  the  tribe  will  soon  move.  It  has  been  said  that  this  tribe  came 
formerly  from  Florida,  but  I  do  not  believe  it.  The  mere  fact,  that  there  is 

Q'2 


116 

found  in  East  Florida  a  river  by  the  name  of  Su-wa-nee,  which  bears  some 
resemblance  to  Sha-wa-no,  seems,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  to  be  the  principal 
evidence  that  has  been  adduced  for  the  fact.  They  have  evidently  been 
known,  and  that  within  the  scope  of  our  authenticated  history,  on  the  Atlantic 
coast — on  the  Delaware  and  Chesapeak  bays.  And  after  that,  have  fought 
their  way  against  every  sort  of  trespass  and  abuse — against  the  bayonet 
and  disease,  through  the  states  of  Pennsylvania,  Delaware  and  Ohio,  In 
diana,  Illinois  and  Missouri,  to  their  present  location  near  the  Kon-zas 
River,  at  least  1500  miles  from  their  native  country. 

This  tribe  and   the  Delawares,  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  were  neighbours 
on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  alternately  allies  and  enemies,  have  retrograded 
and  retreated  together — have  fought  their  enemies  united,  and  fought  each 
other,  until  their  remnants  that  have  outlived  their  nation's  calamities,  have 
now  settled  as  neighbours  together  in  the  Western  wilds  ;  where,  it  is  pro 
bable,  the  sweeping  hand  of  death  will  soon  relieve   them  from   further 
necessity  of  warring  or  moving  ;  and  the  Government,  from  the  necessity  or 
policy  of  proposing  to  them  a  yet  more  distant  home.     In  their  long  and 
disastrous  pilgrimage,  both  of  these  tribes  laid  claim  to,  and  alternately 
occupied  the  beautiful  and  renowned  valley  of  Wy-6-ming  ;  and  after  strew 
ing  the  Susquehana's  lovely  banks  with  their  bones,  and  their  tumuli,  they 
both  yielded  at  last  to  the  dire  necessity,  which  follows  all  civilized  inter 
course  with  natives,  and  fled  to  the  Alleghany,  and  at  last  to  the  banks  of 
the  Ohio  ;  where  necessity  soon  came  again,  and  again,  and  again,  until  the 
great  "  Guardian"  of  all  "red  children"  placed  them  where  they  now  are. 
There  are  of  this  tribe  remaining  about  1200  ;  some  few  of  whom  are 
agriculturists,  and  industrious  and  temperate,  and  religious  people  ;  but  the 
greater  proportion   of  them   are   miserably    poor   and   dependent,   having 
scarcely  the  ambition  to  labour  or  to  hunt,  and  a  passion  for  whiskey-drink 
ing,  that  sinks  them  into  the  most  abject  poverty,  as  they  will  give  the  last 
thing  they  possess  for  a  drink  of  it. 

There  is  not  a  tribe  on  the  Continent  whose  history  is  more  interesting 
than  that  of  the  Shawano's,  nor  any  one  that  has  produced  more  extra 
ordinary  men. 

The  great  Tecumseh,  whose  name  and  history  I  can  but  barely  allude  to 
at  this  time,  was  the  chief  of  this  tribe,  and  perhaps  the  most  extraordinary 
Indian  of  his  age. 

The  present  chief  of  the  tribe  Lay-law-she-kaw  (he  who  goes  up  the 
river,  PLATE  211),  is  a  very  aged,  but  extraordinary  man,  with  a  fine  and 
intelligent  head,  and  his  ears  slit  and  stretched  down  to  his  shoulders,  a 
custom  highly  valued  in  this  tribe;  which  is  done  by  severing  the  rim  of 
the  ear  with  a  knife,  and  stretching  it  down  by  wearing  heavy  weights 
attached  to  it  at  times,  to  elongate  it  as  much  as  possible,  making  a  large 
orifice,  through  which,  on  parades,  &c.  they  often  pass  a  bunch  of  arrows  or 
quills,  and  wear  them  as  ornaments. 


117 

In  this  instance  (which  was  not  an  unusual  one),  the  rims  of  the  ears 
were  so  extended  down,  that  they  touched  the  shoulders,  making  a  ring 
through  which  the  whole  hand  could  easily  be  passed.  The  daughter  of 
this  old  chief,  Ka-te-qua  (the  female  eagle,  PLATE  212),  was  an  agreeable- 
looking  girl,  of  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  much  thought  of  by  the  tribe. 
Pah-te-coo-saw  (the  straight  man,  PLATE  213),  a  warrior  of  this  tribe,  has 
distinguished  himself  by  his  exploits ;  and  when  he  sat  for  his  picture,  had 
painted  his  face  in  a  very  curious  manner  with  black  and  red  paint. 

Ten-squa-ta-way  (the  open  door,   PLATE  214),  called   the   "  Shawnee 
Prophet"  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men,  who  has  flourished 
on  these  frontiers  for  some  time  past.     This  man  is  brother  of  the  famous 
Tecumseh,  and  quite  equal  in  his  medicines  or  mysteries,  to  what  his  brother 
was  in  arms  ;  he  was  blind  in  his  left  eye,  and  in  his  right  hand  he  was  hold 
ing  his  "  medicine  fire,"  and  his  "  sacred  string  of  beans"  in  the  other. 
With  these  mysteries  he  made  his  way  through  most  of  the  North  Western 
tribes,  enlisting  warriors  wherever  he  went,  to  assist  Tecumseh  in  effecting 
his  great  scheme,  of  forming  a  confederacy  of  all  the  Indians  on  the  frontier, 
to  drive  back  the  whites  and  defend  the  Indians'  rights  ;  which  he  told  them 
could  never  in  any  other  way  be  protected.     His  plan  was  certainly  a  correct 
one,  if  not  a  very  great  one  ;  and  his  brother,  the  Prophet,  exercised  his 
astonishing  influence  in   raising  men  for  him  to  fight  his  battles,  and  carry 
out  his  plans.     For  this  purpose,  he  started  upon  an  embassy  to  the  various 
tribes  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  nearly  all  of  which  he  visited  with  astonishing 
success;  exhibiting  his  mystery  fire,  and  using  his  sacred  string  of  beans, 
which  every  young  man  who  was  willing  to  go  to  war,  was  to  touch ;    thereby 
taking  the  solemn  oath  to  start  when  called  upon,  and  not  to  turn  back. 

In  this  most  surprising  manner,  this  ingenious  man  entered  the  villages  of 
most  of  his  inveterate  enemies,   and  of  others  who  never  had  heard  of  the 
name  of  his   tribe ;    and   manosuvred   in  so  successful   a  way,  as  to  make 
his  medicines  a  safe  passport  for  him  to  all  of  their  villages  ;   and  also  the 
means  of  enlisting  in  the  different  tribes,  some  eight  or  ten  thousand  warriors, 
who  had  solemnly  sworn  to  return  with  him  on  his  way  back ;  and  to  assist 
in  the  wars  that  Tecumseh  was  to  wage  against  the  whites  on  the  frontier.   I 
found,  on  my  visit  to  the  Sioux — to  the  Puncahs,  to  the  Riccarees  and  the 
Mandans,  that  he  had  been  there,   and  even  to  the  Blackfeet ;  and  every 
where  told  them  of  the  potency  of  his  mysteries,  and  assured  them,  that  if  they 
allowed  the  fire  to  go  out  in  their  wigwams,  it  would  prove  fatal  to  them  in 
every  case.    He  carried  with  him  into  every  wigwam  that  he  visited,  the  image 
of  a  dead  person  of  the  size  of  life  ;  which  was  made  ingeniously  of  some  light 
material,  and  always  kept  concealed  under  bandages  of  thin  white  muslin 
cloths  and  not  to  be  opened ;  of  this  he  made  great  mystery,  and  got  his 
recruits  to  swear  by  touching  a  sacred  string-  of  white  beans,  which  he  had 
attached  to  its  neck  or  some  other  way  secreted  about  it.      In  this  way,  by 
his  extraordinary  cunning,  he  had  carried  terror  iuio  the  country  as  far  as 


118 

be  went ;  and  had  actually  enlisted  some  eight  or  ten  thousand  men,  who 
were  sworn  to  follow  him  home  ;  and  in  a  few  days  would  have  been  on  their 
way  with  him,  had  not  a  couple  of  his  political  enemies  in  his  own  tribe,  fol 
lowed  on  his  track,  even  to  those  remote  tribes,  and  defeated  his  plans,  by 
pronouncing  him  an  impostor ;  and  all  of  his  forms  and  plans  an  imposition 
upon  them,  which  they  would  be  fools  to  listen  to.  In  this  manner,  this 
great  recruiting  officer  was  defeated  in  his  plans,  for  raising  an  army  of  men 
to  fight  his  brother's  battles  ;  and  to  save  his  life,  he  discharged  his  medi 
cines  as  suddenly  as  possible,  and  secretly  travelled  his  way  home,  over 
those  vast  regions,  to  his  own  tribe,  where  the  death  of  Tecumseh,  and  the 
opposition  of  enemies,  killed  all  his  splendid  prospects,  and  doomed  him  to 
live  the  rest  of  his  days  in  silence,  and  a  sort  of  disgrace  ;  like  all  men  in 
Indian  communities  who  pretend  to  great  medicine,  in  any  way,  and  fail ;  as 
they  all  think  such  failure  an  evidence  of  the  displeasure  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
who  always  judges  right. 

This,  no  doubt,  has  been  a  very  shrewd  and  influential  man,  but  circum 
stances  have  destroyed  him,  as  they  have  many  other  great  men  before  him  ; 
and  he  now  lives  respected,  but  silent  and  melancholy  in  his  tribe.  I  con 
versed  with  him  a  great  deal  about  his  brother  Tecumseh,  of  whom  he  spoke 
frankly,  and  seemingly  with  great  pleasure  ;  but  of  himself  and  his  own  great 
schemes,  he  would  say  nothing.  He  told  me  that  Tecumseh's  plans  were 
to  embody  all  the  Indian  tribes  in  a  grand  confederacy,  from  the  province  of 
Mexico,  to  the  Great  Lakes,  to  unite  their  forces  in  an  army  that  would  be 
able  to  meet  and  drive  back  the  white  people,  who  were  continually  ad 
vancing  on  the  Indian  tribes,  and  forcing  them  from  their  lands  towards  the 
Rocky  Mountains — that  Tecumseh  was  a  great  general,  and  that  nothing 
but  his  premature  death  defeated  his  grand  plan. 

The  Shawanos,  like  most  of  the  other  remnants  of  tribes,  in  whose  coun 
tries  the  game  has  been  destroyed,  and  by  the  use  of  whiskey,  have  been 
reduced  to  poverty  and  absolute  want,  have  become,  to  a  certain  degree, 
agriculturists;  raising  corn  and  beans,  potatoes,  hogs,  horses, &c.,  so  as  to  be 
enabled,  if  they  could  possess  anywhere  on  earth,  a  country  which  they  could 
have  a  certainty  of  holding  in  perpetuity,  as  their  own,  to  plant  and  raise 
their  own  crops,  and  necessaries  of  life  from  the  ground. 

The  Government  have  effected  with  these  people,  as  with  most  of  the 
other  dispersed  tribes,  an  arrangement  by  which  they  are  to  remove  West  of 
the  Mississippi,  to  lands  assigned  them  ;  on  which  they  are  solemnly  pro 
mised  a  home  for  ever ;  the  uncertain  definition  of  which  important  word, 
time  and  circumstances  alone  will  determine. 

Besides  the  personages  whom  I  have  above  mentioned,  I  painted  the  por 
traits  of  several  others  of  note  in  the  tribe ;  and  amongst  them  Lay-loo-ah- 
pe-ai-shee-kaw  (the  grass-bush  and  blossom),  whom  I  introduce  in  this  place, 
rather  from  the  very  handy  and  poetical  name,  than  from  any  great  personal 
distinction  known  to  have  been  acquired  by  him. 


K        {\\\ 

«*~>  ;l~xx  -  \t  *     *    \ 

t^-^.\.  .    xvv  l/jj. 


211 


212 


213 


214 


119 

THE  CHER-O-KEES. 

Living  in  the  vicinity  of,  and  about  Fort  Gibson,  on  the  Arkansas,  and 
700  miles  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  are  a  third  part  or  more  of  the 
once  very  numerous  and  powerful  tribe  who  inhabited  and  still  inhabit,  a 
considerable  part  of  the  state  of  Georgia,  and  under  a  Treaty  made  with  the 
United  States  Government,  have  been  removed  to  those  regions,  where 
they  are  settled  on  a  fine  tract  of  country ;  and  having  advanced  some 
what  in  the  arts  and  agriculture  before  they  started,  are  now  found  to  be 
mostly  living  well,  cultivating  their  fields  of  corn  and  other  crops,  which 
they  raise  with  great  success. 

Under  a  serious  difficulty  existing  between  these  people  (whom  their  for 
mer  solemn  Treaties  with  the  United  States  Government,  were  acknowledged 
a  free  and  independent  nation,  with  powers  to  make  and  enforce  their  own 
laws),  and  the  state  of  Georgia,  which  could  not  admit  such  a  Government 
within  her  sovereignty,  it  was  thought  most  expedient  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  to  propose  to  them,  for  the  fourth  or  fifth  time,  to  enter 
into  Treaty  stipulations  again  to  move ;  and  by  so  doing  to  settle  the  difficult 
question  with  the  state  of  Georgia,  and  at  the  same  time,  to  place  them  in 
peaceable  possession  of  a  large  tract  of  fine  country,  where  they  would  for 
ever  be  free  from  the  continual  trespasses  and  abuses  which  it  was  supposed 
they  would  be  subjected  to,  if  they  were  to  remain  in  the  state  of  Georgia, 
under  the  present  difficulties  and  the  high  excited  feelings  which  were  then 
existing  in  the  minds  of  many  people  along  their  borders. 

John  Ross,  a  civilized  and  highly  educated  and  accomplished  gentleman, 
who  is  the  head-chief  of  the  tribe,  (PLATE  215),  and  several  of  his  leading 
subordinate  chiefs,  have  sternly  and  steadily  rejected  the  proposition  of  such 
a  Treaty  ;  and  are  yet,  with  a  great  majority  of  the  nation  remaining  on  their 
own  ground  in  the  state  of  Georgia,  although  some  six  or  7000  of  the  tribe 
have  several  years  since  removed  to  the  Arkansas,  under  the  guidance  and  con- 
troul  of  an  aged  and  dignified  chief  by  the  name  of  Jol-lee  (PLATE  217). 

This  man,  like  most  of  the  chiefs,  as  well  as  a  very  great  proportion  of 
the  Cherokee  population,  has  a  mixture  of  white  and  red  blood  in  his  veins, 
of  which,  in  this  instance,  the  first  seems  decidedly  to  predominate.  Another 
chief,  and  second  to  this,  amongst  this  portion  of  the  Cherokees,  by  the 
name  of  Teh-ke-neh-kee  (the  black  coat),  I  have  also  painted  and  placed 
in  my  Collection,  as  well  as  a  very  interesting  specimen  of  the  Cherokee 
women  (PLATE  216). 

I  have  travelled  pretty  generally  through  the  several  different  locations  of 
this  interesting  tribe,  both  in  the  Western  and  Eastern  divisions,  and  have 
found  them,  as  well  as  the  Choctaws  and  Creeks,  their  neighbours,  very  far 
advanced  in  the  arts;  affording  to  the  world  the  most  satisfactory  evidences 
that  are  to  be  found  in  America,  of  the  fact,  that  the  Indian  was  not  made 
to  shun  and  evade  good  example,  and  necessarily  to  live  and  die  a  brute, 


120 

as  many  speculating  men  would  needs  record  them  and  treat  them,  until 
they  are  robbed  and  trampled  into  the  dust ;  that  no  living  evidences  might 
give  the  lie  to  their  theories,  or  draw  the  cloak  from  their  cruel  and  horrible 
iniquities. 

As  I  have  repeatedly  said  to  my  readers,  in  the  course  of  my  former 
epistles,  that  the  greater  part  of  my  time  would  be  devoted  to  the  condition 
and  customs  of  the  tribes  that  might  be  found  in  their  primitive  state,  they 
will  feel  disposed  to  pardon  me  for  barely  introducing  the  Cherokees,  and 
several  others  of  these  very  interesting  tribes,  and  leaving  them  and  their  cus 
toms  and  histories  (which  are  of  themselves  enough  for  volumes),  to  the  reader^ 
who  is,  perhaps,  nearly  as  familiar  as  I  am  myself,  with  the  full  and  fair  ac 
counts  of  these  people,  who  have  had  their  historians  and  biographers. 

The  history  of  the  Cherokees  and  other  numerous  remnants  of  tribes,  who 
are  the  exhabitants  of  the  finest  and  most  valued  portions  of  the  United 
States,  is  a  subject  of  great  interest  and  importance,  and  has  already  been 
woven  into  the  most  valued  histories  of  the  country,  as  well  as  forming 
material  parts  of  the  archives  of  the  Government,  which  is  my  excuse  for 
barely  introducing  the  reader  to  them,  and  beckoning  him  off  again  to  the 
native  and  untrodden  wilds,  to  teach  him  something  new  and  unrecorded. 
Yet  I  leave  the  subject,  as  I  left  the  people  (to  whom  I  became  attached, 
for  their  kindness  and  friendship),  with  a  heavy  heart,  wishing  them  success 
and  the  blessing  of  the  Great  Spirit,  who  alone  can  avert  the  doom  that 
would  almost  seem  to  be  fixed  for  their  unfortunate  race. 

The  Cherokees  amount  in  all  to  about  22,000,  16,000  of  whom  are  yet 
living  in  Georgia,  under  the  Government  of  their  chief,  John  Ross,  whose 
name  I  have  before  mentioned  ;  with  this  excellent  man,  who  has  been  for 
many  years  devotedly  opposed  to  the  Treaty  stipulations  for  moving  from 
their  country,  I  have  been  familiarly  acquainted  ;  and,  notwithstanding  the 
bitter  invective  and  animadversions  that  have  been  by  his  political  enemies 
heaped  upon  him,  I  feel  authorized,  and  bound,  to  testify  to  the  unassuming 
and  gentlemanly  urbanity  of  his  manners,  as  well  as  to  the  rigid  temperance 
of  his  habits,  and  the  purity  of  his  language,  in  which  I  never  knew  him  to 
transgress  for  a  moment,  in  public  or  private  interviews. 

At  this  time,  the  most  strenuous  endeavours  are  making  on  the  part  of 
the  Government  and  the  state  of  Georgia,  for  the  completion  of  an  arrange 
ment  for  the  removal  of  the  whole  of  this  tribe,  as  well  as  of  the  Choctaws 
and  Seminoles  ;  and  I  have  not  a  doubt  of  their  final  success,  which  seems, 
from  all  former  experience,  to  attend  every  project  of  the  kind  made  by  the 
Government  to  their  red  children.* 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  the  Government  have  succeeded  in  removing  the  remainder 
of  the  Cherokees  beyond  the  Mississippi,  where  they  have  taken  up  their  residence  along 
side  of  their  old  friends,  who  emigrated  several  years  since  under  Jol-lee,  as  I  have  before 
mentioned.  In  the  few  years  past,  the  Government  has  also  succeeded  in  stipulating 
with,  and  removing  West  of  the  Mississippi,  nearly  every  remnant  of  tribes  spoken  of  in 


Catiin. 


217 


218 


121 

It  is  not  for  me  to  decide,  nor  in  this  place  to  reason,  as  to  the  justice  or 
injustice  of  the  treatment  of  these  people  at  the  hands  of  the  Government 
or  individuals  ;  or  of  the  wisdom  of  the  policy  which  is  to  place  them  in  a 
new,  though  vast  and  fertile  country,  1000  miles  from  the  land  of  their 
birth,  in  the  doubtful  dilemma  whether  to  break  the  natural  turf  with  their 
rusting  ploughshares,  or  string  their  bows,  and  dash  over  the  boundless 
prairies,  beckoned  on  by  the  alluring  dictates  of  their  nature,  seeking  laurels 
amongst  the  ranks  of  their  new  enemies,  and  subsistence  amongst  the  herds 
of  buffaloes. 

Besides  the  Cherokees  in  Georgia,  and  those  that  I  have  spoken  of  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Fort  Gibson,  there  is  another  band  or  family  of  the  same 
tribe,  of  several  hundreds,  living  on  the  banks  of  the  Canadian  river,  an 
hundred  or  more  miles  South  West  of  Fort  Gibson,  under  the  Government 
of  a  distinguished  chief  by  the  name  of  Tuch-ee  (familiarly  called  by  the 
white  people,  "  Dutch"  PLATE  218).  This  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
men  that  lives  on  the  frontiers  at  the  present  day,  both  for  his  remarkable 
history,  and  for  his  fine  and  manly  figure,  and  character  of  face. 

This  man  was  in  the  employment  of  the  Government  as  a  guide  and 
hunter  for  the  regiment  of  dragoons,  on  their  expedition  to  the  Camanchees, 
where  I  had  him  for  a  constant  companion  for  several  months,  and  opportu 
nities  in  abundance,  for  studying  his  true  character,  and  of  witnessing  his 
wonderful  exploits  in  the  different  varieties  of  the  chase.  The  history  of 
this  man's  life  has  been  very  curious  and  surprising  ;  and  I  sincerely  hope 
that  some  one,  with  more  leisure  and  more  talent  than  myself,  will  take  it 
up,  and  do  it  justice.  I  promise  that  the  life  of  this  man  furnishes  the  best 
materials  for  a  popular  tale,  that  are  now  to  be  procured  on  the  Western 
frontier. 

He  is  familiarly  known,  and  much  of  his  life,  to  all  the  officers  who  have  been 
stationed  at  Fort  Gibson,  or  at  any  of  the  posts  in  that  region  of  country. 

Some  twenty  years  or  more  since,  becoming  fatigued  and  incensed  with 
civilized  encroachments,  that  were  continually  making  on  the  borders  of  the 
Cherokee  country  in  Georgia,  where  he  then  resided,  and  probably,  fore 
seeing  the  disastrous  results  they  were  to  lead  to,  he  beat  up  for  volunteers 
to  emigrate  to  the  West,  where  he  had  designed  to  go,  and  colonize  in  a  wild 
country  beyond  the  reach  and  contamination  of  civilized  innovations ;  and 
succeeded  in  getting  several  hundred  men,  women,  and  children,  whom  he  led 
over  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  settled  upon  the  head  waters  of  White 
River,  where  they  lived  until  the  appearance  of  white  faces,  which  began  to 
peep  through  the  forests  at  them,  when  they  made  another  move  of  600 
miles  to  the  banks  of  the  Canadian,  where  they  now  reside  ;  and  where,  by 

this  and  the  two  last  Letters,  so  that  there  are  at  this  time  but  a  few  hundreds  of  the  red 
men  East  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  it  is  probable,  that  a  few  months  more  will  effect  the 
removal  of  the  remainder  of  them.     See  their  present  locations  West  of  the  Mississippi, 
on  the  map  at  the  beginning  of  this  Volume. 
VOL.  ii.  R 


122 

the  system  of  desperate  warfare,  which  he  has  carried  on  against  the  Osages 
and  the  Camanchees,  he  has  successfully  cleared  away  from  a  large  tract 
of  fine  country,  all  the  enemies  that  could  contend  for  it,  and  now  holds  it, 
with  his  little  band  of  myrmidons,  as  their  own  undisputed  soil,  where  they 
are  living  comfortably  by  raising  from  the  soil  fine  crops  of  corn  and  pota 
toes,  and  other  necessaries  of  life  ;  whilst  they  indulge  whenever  they  please, 
in  the  pleasures  of  the  chase  amongst  the  herds  of  buffaloes,  or  in  the 
natural  propensity  for  ornamenting  their  dresses  and  their  war-clubs  with 
the  scalp-locks  of  their  enemies. 

THE  CREEKS  (OR  MUS-KO-GEES). 

Of  20,000  in  numbers,  have,  until  quite  recently,  occupied  an  immense 
tract  of  country  in  the  states  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama  ;  but  by  a  similar 
arrangement  (and  for  a  similar  purpose)  with  the  Government,  have  ex 
changed  their  possessions  there  for  a  country,  adjoining  to  the  Cherokees, 
on  the  South  side  of  the  Arkansas,  to  which  they  have  already  all  removed, 
and  on  which,  like  the  Cherokees,  they  are  laying  out  fine  farms,  and 
building  good  houses,  in  which  they  live ;  in  many  instances,  surrounded 
by  immense  fields  of  corn  and  wheat.  There  is  scarcely  a  finer  country  on 
earth  than  that  now  owned  by  the  Creeks ;  and  in  North  America,  certainly 
no  Indian  tribe  more  advanced  in  the  arts  and  agriculture  than  they  are. 
It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  Creek  with  twenty  or  thirty  slaves  at  work 
on  his  plantation,  having  brought  them  from  a  slave-holding  country,  from 
which,  in  their  long  journey,  and  exposure  to  white  man's  ingenuity,  I  ven 
ture  to  say,  that  most  of  them  got  rid  of  one-half  of  them,  whilst  on  their 
long  and  disastrous  crusade. 

The  Creeks,  as  well  as  the  Cherokees  and  Choctaws,  have  good  schools 
and  churches  established  amongst  them,  conducted  by  excellent  and  pious 
men,  from  whose  example  they  are  drawing  great  and  lasting  benefits. 

In  PLATES  219  and  220,  I  have  given  the  portraits  of  two  distinguished, 
men,  and  I  believe,  both  chiefs.  The  first  by  the  name  of  Stee-cha-co-me-co 
(the  great  king),  familiarly  called  "  Ben  Ferryman  ;"  and  the  other,  Hol-te- 

mal-te-tez-te-neehk-ee  ( ),  called  "  Sam  Ferryman."  These  two  men 

are  brothers,  and  are  fair  specimens  of  the  tribe,  who  are  mostly  clad  in 
calicoes,  and  other  cloths  of  civilized  manufacture  ;  tasselled  and  fringed  off 
by  themselves  in  the  most  fantastic  way,  and  sometimes  with  much  true  and 
picturesque  taste.  They  use  a  vast  many  beads,  and  other  trinkets,  to  hang 
upon  their  necks,  and  ornament  their  moccasins  and  beautiful  belts. 

THE  CHOCTAWS, 

Of  fifteen  thousand,  are  another  tribe,  removed  from  the  Northern  parts  of 
Alabama,  and  Mississippi,  within  the  few  years  past,  and  now  occupying  a 
large  and  rich  tract  of  country,  South  of  the  Arkansas  and  the  Canadian 


123 

rivers  ;  adjoining  to  the  country  of  the  Creeks  and  the  Cherokees,  equally 
civilized,  and  living  much  in  the  same  manner. 

In  this  tribe  I  painted  the  portrait  of  their  famous  and  excellent  chief,  Mo- 
sho-la-tub-bee  (he  who  puts  out  and  kills,  PLATE  221),  who  has  since  died 
of  the  small-pox.  In  the  same  plate  will  also  be  seen,  the  portrait  of  a  dis 
tinguished  and  very  gentlemanly  man,  who  has  been  well-educated,  and  who 
gave  me  much  curious  and  valuable  information,  of  the  history  and  traditions 
of  his  tribe.  The  name  of  this  man,  is  Ha-tchoo-tuck-nee  (the  snapping 
turtle,  PLATE  222),  familiarly  called  by  the  whites  "Peter  Pinchlin." 

These  people  seem,  even  in  their  troubles,  to  be  happy  ;  and  have,  like  all 
the  other  remnants  of  tribes,  preserved  with  great  tenacity  their  different 
games,  which  it  would  seem  they  are  everlastingly  practicing  for  want  of 
other  occupations  or  amusements  in  life.  Whilst  I  was  staying  at  the  Choc- 
taw  agency  in  the  midst  of  their  nation,  it  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of  season  of 
amusements,  a  kind  of  holiday :  when  the  whole  tribe  almost,  were  assembled 
around  the  establishment,  and  from  day  to  day  we  were  entertained  with 
some  games  or  feats  that  were  exceedingly  amusing  :  horse-racing,  dancing, 
wrestling,  foot-racing,  and  ball-playing,  were  amongst  the  most  exciting ;  and 
of  all  the  catalogue,  the  most  beautiful,  was  decidedly  that  of  ball-playing. 
This  wonderful  game,  which  is  the  favourite  one  amongst  all  the  tribes,  and 
with  these  Southern  tribes  played  exactly  the  same,  can  never  be  appreciated 
by  those  who  are  not  happy  enough  to  see  it. 

It  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  for  six  or  eight  hundred  or  a  thousand  of 
these  young  men,  to  engage  in  a  game  of  ball,  with  five  or  six  times  that 
number  of  spectators,  of  men,  women  and  children,  surrounding  the  ground, 
and  looking  on.  And  I  pronounce  such  a  scene,  with  its  hundreds  of  Nature's 
most  beautiful  models,  denuded,  and  painted  of  various  colours,  running  and 
leaping  into  the  air,  in  all  the  most  extravagant  and  varied  forms,  in  the 
desperate  struggles  for  the  ball,  a  school  for  the  painter  or  sculptor,  equal 
to  any  of  those  which  ever  inspired  the  hand  of  the  artist  in  the  Olympian 
games  or  the  Roman  forum. 

I  have  made  it  an  uniform  rule,  whilst  in  the  Indian  country,  to  attend 
every  ball-play  I  could  hear  of,  if  I  could  do  it  by  riding  a  distance  of  twenty  or 
thirty  miles ;  and  my  usual  custom  has  been  on  such  occasions,  to  straddle 
the  back  of  my  horse,  and  look  on  to  the  best  advantage.  In  this  way  I  have 
sat,  and  oftentimes  reclined,  and  almost  dropped  from  my  horse's  back,  with 
irresistible  laughter  at  the  succession  of  droll  tricks,  and  kicks  and  scuffles 
which  ensue,  in  the  almost  superhuman  struggles  for  the  ball.  These  plays  gene 
rally  commence  at  nine  o'clock,  or  near  it,  in  the  morning  ;  and  I  have  more 
than  once  balanced  myself  on  my  pony,  from  that  time  till  near  sundown, 
without  more  than  one  minute  of  intermission  at  a  time,  before  the  game  has 
been  decided. 

It  is  impossible  for  pen  and  ink  alone,  or  brushes,  or  even  with  their  com 
bined  efforts,  to  give  more  than  a  caricature  of  such  a  scene ;  but  such  as  I 

R  2 


124 

have  been  able  to  do,  I  have  put  upon  the  canvass,  and  in  the  slight  outlines 
which  I  have  here  attached  in  PLATES  224,  225,  226,  taken  from  those 
paintings,  (for  the  colouring  to  which  the  reader  must  look  to  my  pen,)  I 
will  convey  as  correct  an  account  as  I  can,  and  leave  the  reader  to  imagine 
the  rest ;  or  look  to  other  books  for  what  I  may  have  omitted. 

While  at  the  Choctaw  agency  it  was  announced,  that  there  was  to  be  a 
great  play  on  a  certain  day,  within  a  few  miles,  on  which  occasion  I  attended, 
and  made  the  three  sketches  which  are  hereto  annexed  ;  and  also  the  follow 
ing  entry  in  my  note-book,  which  I  literally  copy  out. 

"  Monday  afternoon  at  three,  o'clock,  I  rode  out  with  Lieutenants  S.  and 
M.,  to  a  very  pretty  prairie,  about  six  miles  distant,  to  the  ball -play-ground 
of  the  Choctaws,  where  we  found  several  thousand  Indians  encamped.  There 
were  two  points  of  timber  about  half  a  mile  apart,  in  which  the  two  parties 
for  the  play,  with  their  respective  families  and  friends,  were  encamped ;  and 
lying  between  them,  the  prairie  on  which  the  game  was  to  be  played.  My 
companions  and  myself,  although  we  had  been  apprised,  that  to  see  the 
whole  of  a  ball-play,  we  must  remain  on  the  ground  all  the  night  previous, 
had  brought  nothing  to  sleep  upon,  resolving  to  keep  our  eyes  open,  and  see 
what  transpired  through  the  night.  During  the  afternoon,  we  loitered  about 
amongst  the  different  tents  and  shantees  of  the  two  encampments,  and  after 
wards,  at  sundown,  witnessed  the  ceremony  of  measuring  out  the  ground, 
and  erecting  the  "  byes"  or  goals  which  were  to  guide  the  play.  Each  party 
had  their  goal  made  with  two  upright  posts,  about  25  feet  high  and  six  feet 
apart,  set  firm  in  the  ground,  with  a  pole  across  at  the  top.  These  goals 
were  about  forty  or  fifty  rods  apart ;  and  at  a  point  just  half  way  between, 
was  another  small  stake,  driven  down,  where  the  ball  was  to  be  thrown  up 
at  the  firing  of  a  gun,  to  be  struggled  for  by  the  players.  All  this  prepara 
tion  was  made  by  some  old  men,  who  were,  it  seems,  selected  to  be  the 
judges  of  the  play,  who  drew  a  line  from  one  bye  to  the  other ;  to  which 
directly  came  from  the  woods,  on  both  sides,  a  great  concourse  of  women 
and  old  men,  boys  and  girls,  and  dogs  and  horses,  where  bets  were  to  be  made 
on  the  play.  The  betting  was  all  done  across  this  line,  and  seemed  to  be  chiefly 
left  to  the  women,  who  seemed  to  have  martialled  out  a  little  of  everything 
that  their  houses  and  their  fields  possessed.  Goods  and  chattels — knives — 
dresses — blankets — pots  and  kettles — dogs  and  horses,  and  guns  ;  and  all 
were  placed  in  the  possession  of  stake-holders,  who  sat  by  them,  and  watched 
them  on  the  ground  all  night,  preparatory  to  the  play. 

The  sticks  with  which  this  tribe  play,  are  bent  into  an  oblong  hoop  at  the 
end,  with  a  sort  of  slight  web  of  small  thongs  tied  across,  to  prevent  the  ball 
from  passing  through.  The  players  hold  one  of  these  in  each  hand,  and  by 
leaping  into  the  air,  they  catch  the  ball  between  the  two  nettings  and  throw 
it,  without  being  allowed  to  strike  it,  or  catch  it  in  their  hands. 

The  mode  in  which  these  sticks  are  constructed  and  used,  will  be  seen  in 
the  portrait  of  Tullock-chish-ko  (he  who  drinks  the  juice  of  the  stone),  the 


125 

most  distinguished  ball-player  of  the  Choctaw  nation  (PLATE  223),  repre 
sented  in  his  ball-play  dress,  with  his  ball-sticks  in  his  hands.  In  every  ball- 
play  of  these  people,  it  is  a  rule  of  the  play,  that  no  man  shall  wear  mocca 
sins  on  his  feet,  or  any  other  dress  than  his  breech-cloth  around  his  waist, 
with  a  beautiful  bead  belt,  and  a  "  tail,"  made  of  white  horsehair  or  quills, 
and  a  "  mane"  on  the  neck,  of  horsehair  dyed  of  various  colours. 

This  game  had  been  arranged  and  "  made  up,"  three  or  four  months  be 
fore  the  parties  met  to  play  it,  and  in  the  following  manner : — The  two 
champions  who  led  the  two  parties,  and  had  the  alternate  choosing  of  the 
players  through  the  whole  tribe,  sent  runners,  with  the  ball-sticks  most  fan 
tastically  ornamented  with  ribbons  and  red  paint,  to  be  touched  by  each  one 
of  the  chosen  players  ;  who  thereby  agreed  to  be  on  the  spot  at  the  appointed 
time  and  ready  for  the  play.  The  ground  having  been  all  prepared  and 
preliminaries  of  the  game  all  settled,  and  the  bettings  all  made,  and  goods 
all  "  staked,"  night  came  on  without  the  appearance  of  any  players  on  the 
ground.  But  soon  after  dark,  a  procession  of  lighted  flambeaux  was  seen 
coming  from  each  encampment,  to  the  ground  where  the  players  assembled 
around  their  respective  byes  ;  and  at  the  beat  of  the  drums  and  chaunts  of 
the  women,  each  party  of  players  commenced  the  "ball-play  dance"  (PLATE 
224).  Each  party  danced  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  around  their  respective 
byes,  in  their  ball-play  dress ;  rattling  their  ball-sticks  together  in  the  most 
violent  manner,  and  all  singing  as  loud  as  they  could  raise  their  voices; 
whilst  the  women  of  each  party,  who  had  their  goods  at  stake,  formed  into 
two  rows  on  the  line  between  the  two  parties  of  players,  and  danced  also,  in 
an  uniform  step,  and  all  their  voices  joined  in  chaunts  to  the  Great  Spirit ; 
in  which  they  were  soliciting  his  favour  in  deciding  the  game  to  their  advan 
tage  ;  and  also  encouraging  the  players  to  exert  every  power  they  possessed, 
in  the  struggle  that  was  to  ensue.  In  the  mean  time,  four  old  medicine-men , 
who  were  to  have  the  starting  of  the  ball,  and  who  were  to  be  judges  of  the 
play,  were  seated  at  the  point  where  the  ball  was  to  be  started  ;  and  busily 
smoking  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  their  success  in  judging  rightly,  and  impar 
tially,  between  the  parties  in  so  important  an  affair. 

This  dance  was  one  of  the  most  picturesque  scenes  imaginable,  and  was 
repeated  at  intervals  of  every  half  hour  during  the  night,  and  exactly  in  the 
same  manner;  so  that  the  players  were  certainly  awake  all  the  night,  and 
arranged  in  their  appropriate  dress,  prepared  for  the  play  which  was  to  com 
mence  at  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning.  In  the  morning,  at  the  hour,  the 
two  parties  and  all  their  friends,  were  drawn  out  and  over  the  ground  ;  when 
at  length  the  game  commenced,  by  the  judges  throwing  up  the  ball  at  the 
firing  of  a  gun  ;  when  an  instant  struggle  ensued  between  the  players,  who 
were  some  six  or  seven  hundred  in  numbers,  and  were  mutually  endeavouring 
to  catch  the  ball  in  their  sticks,  and  throw  it  home  and  between  their  respec 
tive  stakes  ;  which,  whenever  successfully  done,  counts  one  for  game.  In  this 
game  every  player  was  dressed  alike,  that  is,  divested  of  all  dress,  except  the 


126 

girdle  and  the  tail,  which  I  have  before  described ;  and  in  these  desperate 
struggles  for  the  ball,  when  it  is  up  (PLATE  225,  where  hundreds  are  run 
ning  together  and  leaping,  actually  over  each  other's  heads,  and  darting 
between  their  adversaries'  legs,  tripping  and  throwing,  and  foiling  each  other 
in  every  possible  manner,  and  every  voice  raised  to  the  highest  key,  in  shrill 
yelps  and  barks)  !  there  are  rapid  successions  of  feats,  and  of  incidents,  that 
astonish  and  amuse  far  beyond  the  conception  of  any  one  who  has  not  had 
the  singular  good  luck  to  witness  them.  In  these  struggles,  every  mode  is 
used  that  can  be  devised,  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the  foremost,  who  is  likely 
to  get  the  ball ;  and  these  obstructions  often  meet  desperate  individual  resis 
tance,  which  terminates  in  a  violent  scuffle,  and  sometimes  in  fisticuffs  ;  when 
their  stricks  are  dropped,  and  the  parties  are  unmolested,  whilst  they  are  set 
tling  it  between  themselves ;  unless  it  be  by  a  general  stampedo,  to  which 
they  are  subject  who  are  down,  if  the  ball  happens  to  pass  in  their  direction. 
Every  weapon,  by  a  rule  of  all  ball-plays,  is  laid  by  in  their  respective  en 
campments,  and  no  man  allowed  to  go  for  one ;  so  that  the  sudden  broils 
that  take  place  on  the  ground,  are  presumed  to  be  as  suddenly  settled  with 
out  any  probability  of  much  personal  injury  ;  and  no  one  is  allowed  to  inter 
fere  in  any  way  with  the  contentious  individuals. 

There  are  times,  when  the  ball  gets  to  the  ground  (PLATE  226),  and  such 
a  confused  mass  rushing  together  around  it,  and  knocking  their  sticks  to 
gether,  without  the  possibility  of  any  one  getting  or  seeing  it,  for  the  dust 
that  they  raise,  that  the  spectator  loses  his  strength,  and  everything  else  but 
his  senses  ;  when  the  condensed  mass  of  ball-sticks,  and  shins,  and  bloody 
noses,  is  carried  around  the  different  parts  of  the  ground,  for  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  at  a  time,  without  any  one  of  the  mass  being  able  to  see  the  ball ; 
and  which  they  are  often  thus  scuffling  for,  several  minutes  after  it  has  been 
thrown  off,  and  played  over  another  part  of  the  ground. 

For  each  time  that  the  ball  was  passed  between  the  stakes  of  either  party, 
one  was  counted  for  their  game,  and  a  halt  of  about  one  minute  ;  when  it 
was  again  started  by  the  judges  of  the  play,  and  a  similar  struggle  ensued  ; 
and  so  on  until  the  successful  party  arrived  to  100,  which  was  the  limit  of 
the  game,  and  accomplished  at  an  hour's  sun,  when  they  took  the  stakes  ; 
and  then,  by  a  previous  agreement,  produced  a  number  of  jugs  of  whiskey, 
which  gave  all  a  wholesome  drink,  and  sent  them  all  off  merry  and  in  good 
humour,  but  not  drunk. 

After  this  exciting  day,  the  concourse  was  assembled  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  agency  house,  where  we  had  a  great  variety  of  dances  and  other 
amusements;  the  most  of  which  I  have  described  on  former  occasions. 
One,  however,  was  new  to  me,  and  I  must  say  a  few  words  of  it :  this  was 
the  Eagle  Dance,  a  very  pretty  scene,  which  is  got  up  by  their  young 
men,  in  honour  of  that  bird,  for  which  they  seem  to  have  a  religious 
regard.  This  picturesque  dance  was  given  by  twelve  or  sixteen  men,  whose 
bodies  were  chiefly  naked  and  painted  white,  with  white  clay,  and  each 


! 

. 


*  u 

r  ''—41 

I 


: 

: 


^-t 

rf!i 


,    ^ 


o— • — ' — *^     //i    '  * 

v  ;  °U1:  s>^</J-i     '' 


127 

one  holding  in  his  hand  the  tail  of  the  eagle,  while  his  head  was  also  deco 
rated  with  an  eagle's  quill  (PLATE  227).  Spears  were  stuck  in  the  ground, 
around  which  the  dance  was  performed  by  four  men  at  a  time,  who  had 
simultaneously,  at  the  beat  of  the  drum,  jumped  up  from  the  ground  where 
they  had  all  sat  in  rows  of  four,  one  row  immediately  behind  the  other, 
and  ready  to  take  the  place  of  the  first  four  when  they  left  the  ground 
fatigued,  which  they  did  by  hopping  or  jumping  around  behind  the  rest, 
and  taking  their  seats,  ready  to  come  up  again  in  their  turn,  after  each  of 
the  other  sets  had  been  through  the  same  forms. 

In  this  dance,  the  steps  or  rather  jumps,  were  different  from  anything 
I  had  ever  witnessed  before,  as  the  dancers  were  squat  down,  with  their 
bodies  almost  to  the  ground,  in  a  severe  and  most  difficult  posture,  as  will 
have  been  seen  in  the  drawing. 

I  have  already,  in  a  former  Letter,  while  speaking  of  the  ancient  custom 
of  flattening  the  head,  given  a  curious  tradition  of  this  interesting  tribe, 
accounting  for  their  having  come  from  the  West,  and  I  here  insert  another 
or  two,  which  I  had,  as  well  as  the  former  one,  from  the  lips  of  Peter 
Pinchlin,  a  very  intelligent  and  influential  man  in  the  tribe,  of  whom  I  have 
spoken  in  page  123. 

The  Deluge.  "  Our  people  have  always  had  a  tradition  of  the  Deluge, 
which  happened  in  this  way  : — there  was  total  darkness  for  a  great  time  over 
the  whole  of  the  earth  ;  the  Choctaw  doctors  or  mystery-men  looked  out  for 
daylight  for  a  long  time,  until  at  last  they  despaired  of  ever  seeing  it,  and  the 
whole  nation  were  very  unhappy.  At  last  a  light  was  discovered  in  the 
North,  and  there  was  great  rejoicing,  until  it  was  found  to  be  great  mountains 
of  water  rolling  on,  which  destroyed  them  all,  except  a  few  families  who 
had  expected  it  and  built  a  great  raft,  on  which  they  were  saved." 

Future  State.  "  Our  people  all  believe  that  the  spirit  lives  in  a  future 
state — that  it  has  a  great  distance  to  travel  after  death  towards  the  West — 
that  it  has  to  cross  a  dreadful  deep  and  rapid  stream,  which  is  hemmed  in 
on  both  sides  by  high  and  rugged  hills — over  this  stream,  from  hill  to  hill, 
there  lies  a  long  and  slippery  pine-log,  with  the  bark  peeled  off,  over  which 
the  dead  have  to  pass  to  the  delightful  hunting-grounds.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  stream  there  are  six  persons  of  the  good  hunting-grounds,  with  rocks 
in  their  hands,  which  they  throw  at  them  all  when  they  are  on  the  middle 
of  the  log.  The  good  walk  on  safely,  to  the  good  hunting-grounds,  where 
there  is  one  continual  day — where  the  trees  are  always  green — where  the  sky 
has  no  clouds — where  there  are  continual  fine  and  cooling  breezes — where 
there  is  one  continual  scene  of  feasting,  dancing  and  rejoicing — where  there 
is  no  pain  or  trouble,  and  people  never  grow  old,  but  for  ever  live  young  and 
enjoy  the  youthful  pleasures. 

"The  wicked  see  the  stones  coming,  and  try  to  dodge,  by  which  they  fall 
from  the  log,  and  go  down  thousands  of  feet  to  the  water,  which  is  dashing 
over  the  rocks,  and  is  stinking  with  dead  fish,  and  animals,  where  they  are 


128 

carried  around  and  brought  continually  back  to  the  same  place  in  whirl 
pools — where  the  trees  are  all  dead,  and  the  waters  are  full  of  toads  and 
lizards,  and  snakes — where  the  dead  are  always  hungry,  and  have  nothing 
to  eat — are  always  sick,  and  never  die — where  the  sun  never  shines,  and 
where  the  wicked  are  continually  climbing  up  by  thousands  on  the  sides  of 
a  high  rock  from  which  they  can  overlook  the  beautiful  country  of  the  good 
hunting-grounds,  the  place  of  the  happy,  but  never  can  reach  it." 

Origin  of  the  Craw-fish  band.  '*  Our  people  have  amongst  them  a  band 
which  is  called,  the  Craw-fish  band.  They  formerly,  but  at  a  very  remote 
period,  lived  under  ground,  and  used  to  come  up  out  of  the  mud — they 
were  a  species  of  craw-fish  ;  and  they  went  on  their  hands  and  feet,  and 
lived  in  a  large  cave  deep  under  ground,  where  there  was  no  light  for  several 
miles.  They  spoke  no  language  at  all,  nor  could  they  understand  any. 
The  entrance  to  their  cave  was  through  the  mud — and  they  used  to  run 
down  through  that,  and  into  their  cave  ;  and  thus,  the  Choctaws  were  for 
a  long  time  unable  to  molest  them.  The  Choctaws  used  to  lay  and  wait 
for  them  to  come  out  into  the  sun,  where  they  would  try  to  talk  to  them, 
and  cultivate  an  acquaintance. 

"  One  day,  a  parcel  of  them  were  run  upon  so  suddenly  by  the  Choctaws, 
that  they  had  no  time  to  go  through  the  mud  into  their  cave,  but  were 
driven  into  it  by  another  entrance,  which  they  had  through  the  rocks. 
The  Choctaws  then  tried  a  long  time  to  smoke  them  out,  and  at  last  suc 
ceeded — they  treated  them  kindly — taught  them  the  Choctaw  language — 
taught  them  to  walk  on  two  legs — made  them  cut  off  their  toe  nails,  and 
pluck  the  hair  from  their  bodies,  after  which  they  adopted  them  into  their 
nation — and  the  remainder  of  them  are  living  under  ground  to  this  day." 


129 


LETTER-NO.  50. 

FORT  SNELLING,  FALL  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 

HAVING  recruited  my  health  during  the  last  winter,  in  recreation  and 
amusements  on  the  Coast  of  Florida,  like  a  bird  of  passage  I  started,  at  the 
rallying  notes  of  the  swan  and  the  wild  goose,  for  the  cool  and  freshness  of 
the  North,  but  the  gifted  passengers  soon  left  me  behind.  I  found  them 
here,  their  nests  built — their  eggs  hatched — their  offspring  fledged  and 
figuring  in  the  world,  before  I  arrived. 

The  majestic  river  from  the  Balize  to  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony, -I  have 
just  passed  over ;  with  a  high-wrought  mind,  filled  with  amazement  and 
wonder,  like  other  travellers  who  occasionally  leave  the  stale  and  profitless 
routine  of  the  "  Fashionable  Tour,"  to  gaze  with  admiration  upon  the  wild 
and  native  grandeur  and  majesty  of  this  great  Western  world.  TheUpper  Mis 
sissippi,  like  the  Upper  Missouri,  must  be  approached  to  be  appreciated  ;  for 
all  that  can  be  seen  on  the  Mississippi  below  St.  Louis,  or  for  several  hundred 
miles  above  it,  gives  no  hint  or  clue  to  the  magnificence  of  the  scenes  which 
are  continually  opening  to  the  view  of  the  traveller,  and  riveting  him  to  the 
deck  of  the  steamer,  through  sunshine,  lightning  or  rain,  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Ouisconsin  to  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony. 

The  traveller  in  ascending  the  river,  will  see  but  little  of  picturesque 
beauty  in  the  landscape,  until  he  reaches  Rock  Island  ;  and  from  that  point 
he  will  find  it  growing  gradually  more  interesting,  until  he  reaches  Prairie 
du  Cbien  ;  and  from  that  place  until  he  arrives  at  Lake  Pepin,  every  reach 
and  turn  in  the  river  presents  to  his  eye  a  more  immense  and  magnificent 
scene  of  grandeur  and  beauty.  From  day  to  day,  the  eye  is  riveted  in  list 
less,  tireless  admiration,  upon  the  thousand  bluffs  which  tower  in  majesty 
above  the  river  on  either  side,  and  alternate  as  the  river  bends,  into  countless 
fascinating  forms. 

The  whole  face  of  the  country  is  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass, 
whether  there  is  timber  or  not ;  and  the  magnificent  bluffs,  studding  the 
sides  of  the  river,  and  rising  in  the  forms  of  immense  cones,  domes  and  ram 
parts,  give  peculiar  pleasure,  from  the  deep  and  soft  green  in  which  they  are 
clad  up  their  broad  sides,  and  to  their  extreme  tops,  with  a  carpet  of  grass, 
with  spots  and  clusters  of  timber  of  a  deeper  green  ;  and  apparently  in  many 
places,  arranged  in  orchards  and  pleasure-grounds  by  the  hands  of  art. 

The  scenes  that  are  passed  between  Prairie  du  Chien  and  St.  Peters,  in 
cluding  Lake  Pepin,  between  whose  magnificently  turretted  shores  one  passes 
for  twenty-two  miles,  will  amply  reward  the  tourist  for  the  time  and  expense 
VOL.  n.  s 


130 

of  a  visit  to  them.  And  to  him  or  her  of  too  little  relish  for  Nature's  rude 
works,  to  profit  as  they  pass,  there  will  be  found  a  redeeming  pleasure 
at  the  mouth  of  St.  Peters  and  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony.  This  scene  has 
often  been  described,  and  I  leave  it  for  the  world  to  come  and  gaze  upon 
for  themselves ;  recommending  to  them  at  the  same  time,  to  denominate 
the  next  "  Fashionable  Tour,"  a  trip  to  St.  Louis  ;  thence  by  steamer  to  Rock 
Island,  Galena,  Dubuque,  Prairie  du  Chien,  Lake  Pepin,  St.  Peters,  Fall 
of  St.  Anthony,  back  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  from  thence  to  Fort  Winnebago, 
Green  Bay,  Mackinaw,  Sault  de  St.  Mary,  Detroit,  Buffalo,  Niagara,  and 
home.  This  Tour  would  comprehend  but  a  small  part  of  the  great "  Far  West ;" 
but  it  will  furnish  to  the  traveller  a  fair  sample,  and  being  a  part  of  it 
which  is  now  made  so  easily  accessible  to  the  world,  and  the  only  part  of 
it  to  which  ladies  can  have  access,  I  would  recommend  to  all  who  have  time 
and  inclination  to  devote  to  the  enjoyment  of  so  splendid  a  Tour,  to  wait  not, 
but  make  it  while  the  subject  is  new,  and  capable  of  producing  the  greatest 
degree  of  pleasure.  To  the  world  at  large,  this  trip  is  one  of  surpassing 
interest — to  the  artist  it  has  a  double  relish,  and  to  me,  still  further  induce 
ments  ;  inasmuch  as,  many  of  the  tribes  of  Indians  which  I  have  met  with, 
furnish  manners  and  customs  which  have  awakened  my  enthusiasm,  and 
afforded  me  interesting  materials  for  my  Gallery. 

To  give  to  the  reader  a  better  idea  of  the  character  of  the  scenes  which  I 
have  above  described,  along  the  stately  shores  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  I 
have  here  inserted  a  river  view  taken  about  one  hundred  miles  below  this 
place  (PLATE  228)  ;  and  another  of  '<  Dubuque's  Grave"  (PLATE  229), 
about  equi-distant  between  this  and  St.  Louis  ;  and  both  fairly  setting  forth 
the  predominant  character  of  the  shores  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  which  are 
every  where  covered,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  behold,  with  a  green  turf,  and 
occasional  forest  trees,  as  seen  in  the  drawings. 

Dubuque's  Grave  is  a  place  of  great  notoriety  on  this  river,  in  conse 
quence  of  its  having  been  the  residence  and  mining  place  of  the  first  lead 
mining  pioneer  of  these  regions,  by  the  name  of  Dubuque,  who  held  his 
title  under  a  grant  from  the  Mexican  Government  (I  think),  and  settled  by 
the  side  of  this  huge  bluff,  on  the  pinnacle  of  which  he  erected  the  tomb 
to  receive  his  own  body,  and  placed  over  it  a  cross  with  his  own  inscription 
on  it.  After  his  death,  his  body  was  placed  within  the  tomb,  at  his  request, 
lying  in  state  (and  uncovered  except  with  his  winding-sheet),  upon  a  large 
flat  stone,  where  it  was  exposed  to  the  view,  as  his  bones  now  are,  to  the 
gaze,  of  every  traveller  who  takes  the  pains  to  ascend  this  beautiful,  grassy 
and  lilly-covered  mound  to  its  top,  and  peep  through  the  gratings  of  two 
little  windows,  which  have  admitted  the  eyes,  but  stopped  the  sacrilegious 
hands  of  thousands  who  have  taken  a  walk  to  it. 

At  the  foot  of  this  bluff,  there  is  now  an  extensive  smelting  furnace, 
where  vast  quantities  of  lead  are  melted  from  the  ores  which  are  dug  out  of 
the  hills  in  all  directions  about  it. 


;|i&«f 

•      . 

./      L--.  , 


3     • 

. 


229 


Ic  C° 


I 


• 


mmmMm: 


131 

The  Fall  of  St.  Anthony  (PLATE  230),  which  is  900  miles  above  St. 
Louis,  is  the  natural  curiosity  of  this  country,  and  nine  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  St.  Peters,  from  whence  I  am  at  this  time  writing.  At  this 
place,  on  the  point  of  land  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Peters 
rivers,  the  United  States'  Government  have  erected  a  strong  Fort,  which 
has  taken  the  name  of  Fort  Snelling,  from  the  name  of  a  distinguished 
and  most  excellent  officer  of  that  name,  who  superintended  the  building 
of  it.  The  site  of  this  Fort  is  one  of  the  most  judicious  that  could  have 
been  selected  in  the  country,  both  for  health  and  defence  ;  and  being  on 
an  elevation  of  100  feet  or  more  above  the  water,  has  an  exceedingly 
bold  and  picturesque  effect,  as  seen  in  PLATE  231. 

This  Fort  is  generally  occupied  by  a  regiment  of  men  placed  here  to 
keep  the  peace  amongst  the  Sioux  and  Chippeways,  who  occupy  the  coun 
try  about  it,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  citizens  on  the  frontier. 
The  Fall  of  St.  Anthony  is  about  nine  miles  above  this  Fort,  and  the 
junction  of  the  two  rivers  ;  and,  although  a  picturesque  and  spirited  scene, 
is  but  a  pigmy  in  size  to  Niagara,  and  other  cataracts  in  our  country — the 
actual  perpendicular  fall  being  but  eighteen  feet,  though  of  half  a  mile  or  so 
in  extent,  which  is  the  width  of  the  river ;  with  brisk  and  leaping  rapids 
above  and  below,  giving  life  and  spirit  to  the  scene. 

The  Sioux  who  live  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Falls,  and  occupy  all  the  country 
about  here,  West  of  the  Mississippi,  are  a  part  of  the  great  tribe  on  the 
Upper  Missouri ;  and  the  same  in  most  of  their  customs,  yet  very  dissimilar 
in  personal  appearance,  from  the  changes  which  civilized  examples  have 
wrought  upon  them.  I  mentioned  in  a  former  Letter,  that  the  country  of 
the  Sioux,  extended  from  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi ;  and  for  the  whole  of  that  way,  it  is  more  or  less  settled  by 
this  immense  tribe,  bounding  the  East  side  of  their  country  by  the  Missis 
sippi  River. 

The  Sioux  in  these  parts,  who  are  out  of  reach  of  the  beavers  and  buf 
faloes,  are  poor  and  very  meanly  clad,  compared  to  those  on  the  Missouri, 
where  they  are  in  the  midst  of  those  and  other  wild  animals,  whose  skins 
supply  them  with  picturesque  and  comfortable  dresses.  The  same  deterio 
ration  also  is  seen  in  the  morals  and  constitutions  of  these,  as  amongst  all 
other  Indians,  who  live  along  the  frontiers,  in  the  vicinity  of  our  settlements, 
where  whiskey  is  sold  to  them,  and  the  small-pox  and  other  diseases  are 
introduced  to  shorten  their  lives. 

The  principal  bands  of  the  Sioux  that  visit  this  place,  and  who  live  in  the 
vicinity  of  it,  are  those  known  as  the  Black  Dog's  band — Red  Wing's  band, 
and  Wa-be-sha's  band ;  each  band  known  in  common  parlance,  by  the 
name  of  its  chief,  as  I  have  mentioned.  The  Black  Dog's  band  reside  but 
a  few  miles  above  Fort  Snelling,  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Peters,  and  num 
ber  some  five  or  six  hundred.  The  Red  Wing's  band  are  at  the  head  of 
Lake  Pepin,  sixty  miles  below  this  place  on  the  West  side  of  the  river.  And 

3.  2 


132 

Wa-be-sha's  band  and  village  are  some  sixty  or  more  miles  below  Lake 
Pepin  on  the  West  side  of  the  river,  on  a  beautiful  prairie,  known  (and 
ever  will  be)  by  the  name  of  "  Wa-be-sha's  prairie."  Each  of  these  bands, 
and  several  others  that  live  in  this  section  of  country,  exhibit  considerable 
industry  in  their  agricultural  pursuits,  raising  very  handsome  corn-fields, 
laying  up  their  food,  thus  procured,  for  their  subsistence  during  the  long 
and  tedious  winters. 

The  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  bands  are  assembled  here 
at  this  time,  affording  us,  who  are  visitors  here,  a  fine  and  wild  scene  of 
dances,  amusements,  &c.  They  seem  to  take  great  pleasure  in  "  showing 
off"  in  these  scenes,  to  the  amusement  of  the  many  fashionable  visitors, 
both  ladies  and  gentlemen,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  reaching  this  post,  as 
steamers  are  arriving  at  this  place  every  week  in  the  summer  from  St.  Louis. 

Many  of  the  customs  of  these  people  create  great  surprise  in  the  minds 
of  the  travellers  of  the  East,  who  here  have  the  first  satisfactory  opportunity  of 
seeing  them  ;  and  none,  I  observe,  has  created  more  surprise,  and  pleasure 
also,  particularly  amongst  the  ladies,  than  the  mode  of  carrying  their  infants, 
slung  on  their  backs,  in  their  beautifully  ornamented  cradles. 

The  custom  of  carrying  the  child  thus  is  not  peculiar  to  this  tribe,  but 
belongs  alike  to  all,  as  far  as  I  have  yet  visited  them ;  and  also  as  far  as  I 
have  been  able  to  learn  from  travellers,  who  have  been  amongst  tribes  that 
1  have  not  yet  seen.  The  child  in  its  earliest  infancy,  has  its  back  lashed 
to  a  straight  board,  being  fastened  to  it  by  bandages,  which  pass  around  it 
in  front,  and  on  the  back  of  the  board  they  are  tightened  to  the  necessary 
degree  by  lacing  strings,  which  hold  it  in  a  straight  and  healthy  position, 
with  its  feet  resting  on  a  broad  hoop,  which  passes  around  the  foot  of  the 
cradle,  and  the  child's  position  (as  it  rides  about  on  its  mother's  back,  sup 
ported  by  a  broad  strap  that  passes  across  her  forehead),  that  of  standing 
erect,  which,  no  doubt,  has  a  tendency  to  produce  straight  limbs,  sound 
lungs,  and  long  life.  In  PLATE  232,  letter  a,  is  a  correct  drawing  of  a 
Sioux  cradle,  which  is  in  my  Collection,  and  was  purchased  from  a  Sioux 
woman's  back,  as  she  was  carrying  her  infant  in  it,  as  is  seen  in  letter  d  of 
the  same  plate. 

In  this  instance,  as  is  often  the  case,  the  bandages  that  pass  around  the 
cradle,  holding  the  child  in,  are  all  the  way  covered  with  a  beautiful  em 
broidery  of  porcupine  quills,  with  ingenious  figures  of  horses,  men,  &c.  A 
broad  hoop  of  elastic  wood  passes  around  in  front  of  the  child's  face,  to 
protect  it  in  case  of  a  fall,  from  the  front  of  which  is  suspended  a  little  toy 
of  exquisite  embroidery,  for  the  child  to  handle  and  amuse  itself  with.  To 
this  and  other  little  trinkets  hanging  in  front  of  it,  there  are  attached  many 
little  tinselled  and  tinkling  things,  of  the  brightest  colours,  to  amuse  both 
the  eyes  and  the  ears  of  the  child.  Whilst  travelling  on  horseback,  the 
arms  of  the  child  are  fastened  under  the  bandages,  so  as  not  to  be  endan- 

o       ' 

gered  if  the  cradle  falls ;    and  when   at  rest,  they  are  generally  taken  out, 


17'  f^5v> 


133 

allowing  the  infant  to  reach  and  amuse  itself  with  the  little  toys  and  trinkets 
that  are  placed  before  it,  and  within  its  reach.  This  seems  like  a  cruel 
mode,  but  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  it  is  a  very  good  one  for  the  people 
who  use  it,  and  well  adapted  to  the  circumstances  under  which  they  live  ; 
in  support  of  which  opinion,  I  offer  the  universality  of  the  custom,  which 
has  been  practiced  for  centuries  amongst  all  the  tribes  of  North  America, 
as  a  legitimate'aud  very  strong  reason.  It  is  not  true  that  amongst  all  the 
tribes  the  cradle  will  be  found  so  much  ornamented  as  in  the  present  in 
stance  ;  but  the  model  is  essentially  the  same,  as  well  as  the  mode  of  carry 
ing  i 

Along  the  frontiers,  where  the  Indians  have  been  ridiculed  for  the  custom, 
as  they  are  for  everything  that  is  not  civil  about  them,  they  have  in  many 
instances  departed  from  it ;  but  even  there,  they  will  generally  be  seen  lug 
ging  their  children  about  in  this  way,  when  they  have  abandoned  almost 
every  other  native  custom,  and  are  too  poor  to  cover  it  with  more  than  rags 
and  strings,  which  fasten  it  to  its  cradle. 

The  infant  is  carried  in  this  manner  until  it  is  five,  six  or  seven  months 
old,  after  which  it  is  carried  on  the  back,  in  the  manner  represented  in  two 
of  the  figures  of  the  same  plate,  and  held  within  the  folds  of  the  robe  or 
blanket. 

The  modes  of  carrying  the  infant  when  riding,  are  also  here  shewn,  and 
the  manner  in  which  the  women  ride,  which,  amongst  all  the  tribes,  is 
astride,  in  the  same  manner  as  that  practiced  by  the  men. 

Letter  b  in  the  same  plate  is  a  mourning  cradle,  and  opens  to  the  view  of 
the  reader  another  very  curious  and  interesting  custom.  If  the  infant  dies 
during  the  time  that  is  allotted  to  it  to  be  carried  in  this  cradle,  it  is  buried, 
and  the  disconsolate  mother  fills  the  cradle  with  black  quills  and  feathers,  in 
the  parts  which  the  child's  body  had  occupied,  and  in  this  way  carries  it 
around  with  her  wherever  she  goes  for  a  year  or  more,  with  as  much  care 
as  if  her  infant  were  alive  and  in  it ;  and  she  often  lays  or  stands  it  leaning 
against  the  side  of  the  wigwam,  where  she  is  all  day  engaged  in  her  needle 
work,  and  chatting  and  talking  to  it  as  familiarly  and  affectionately  as  if  it 
were  her  loved  infant,  instead  of  its  shell,  that  she  was  talking  to.  So  lasting 
and  so  strong  is  the  affection  of  these  women  for  the  lost  child,  that  it  mat 
ters  not  how  heavy  or  cruel  their  load,  or  how  rugged  the  route  they  have 
to  pass  over,  they  will  faithfully  carry  this,  and  carefully  from  day  to  day, 
and  even  more  strictly  perform  their  duties  to  it,  than  if  the  child  were  alive 
and  in  it. 

In  the  little  toy  that  I  have  mentioned,  and  which  is  suspended  before 
the  child's  face,  is  carefully  and  superstitiously  preserved  the  umbilicus,  which 
is  always  secured  at  the  time  of  its  birth,  and  being  rolled  up  into  a  little  wad  of 
the  size  of  a  pea,  and  dried,  it  is  enclosed  in  the  centre  of  this  little  bag,  and 
placed  before  the  child's  face,  as  its  protector  and  its  security  for  "  good  luck" 
uud  long  life.  Letter  c,  same  plate,  exhibits  a  number  of  forms  and  different 


134 

tastes  of  several  of  these  little  toys,  which  I  have  purchased  from  the  women, 
which  they  were  very  willing  to  sell  for  a  trifling  present ;  but  in  every  instance, 
they  cut  them  open,  and  removed  from  within  a  bunch  of  cotton  or  moss,  the 
little  sacred  medicine,  which,  to  part  with,  would  be  to  "  endanger  the  health 
of  the  child" — a  thing  that  no  consideration  would  have  induced  them  in 
any  instance  to  have  done. 

My  brush  has  been  busily  employed  at  this  place,  as  in  others  ;  and  amongst 
the  dignitaries  that  I  have  painted,  is,  first  and  foremost,  Wa-nah-de-tunck-a 
(the  big  eagle),  commonly  called  the  "  Black  Dog."  This  is  a  very  noted 
man,  and  chief  of  the  0-hah-kas-ka-toh-y-an-te  (long  avenue)  band. 

By  the  side  of  him  Toh-to-wah-kon-da-pee  (the  blue  medicine),  a  noted 
medicine-man,  of  the  Ting-tah-to-a  band;  with  his  medicine  or  mystery  drum, 
made  of  deer-skins ;  and  his  mystery  rattles  made  of  antelopes'  hoofs,  in 
his  hands.  This  notorious  old  man  was  professionally  a  doctor  in  his  tribe, 
but  not  very  distinguished,  until  my  friend  Dr.  Jarvis,  who  is  surgeon  for 
the  post,  very  liberally  dealt  out  from  the  public  medicine-chest,  occasional 
"  odds  and  ends"  to  him,  and  with  a  professional  concern  for  the  poor  old 
fellow's  success,  instructed  him  in  the  modes  of  their  application  ;  since 
which,  the  effects  of  his  prescriptions  have  been  so  decided  amongst  his 
tribe,  whom  he  holds  in  ignorance  of  his  aid  in  his  mysterious  operations  ; 
that  he  has  risen  quite  rapidly  into  notice,  within  the  few  last  years,  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Fort ;  where  he  finds  it  most  easy  to  carry  out  his  new 
mode  of  practice,  for  reasons  above  mentioned. 

In  PLATES  235  and  236,  there  are  portraits  of  the  two  most  distinguished 
ball-players  in  the  Sioux  tribe,  whose  names  are  Ah-no-je-nahge  (he  who 
stands  on  both  sides),  and  We-chush-ta-doo-ta  (the  red  man).  Both  of 
these  young  men  stood  to  me  for  their  portraits,  in  the  dresses  precisely  in 
which  they  are  painted  ;  with  their  ball-sticks  in  their  hands,  and  in  the 
attitudes  of  the  play.  We  have  had  several  very  spirited  plays  here  within 
the  few  past  days ;  and  each  of  these  young  men  came  from  the  ball-play 
ground  to  .my  painting-room,  in  the  dress  in  which  they  had  just  struggled 
in  the  play. 

It  will  be  seen  by  these  sketches,  that  the  custom  in  this  tribe,  differs  in 
some  respects  from  that  of  the  Choctaws  and  other  Southern  tribes,  of  which 
I  have  before  spoken ;  and  I  there  showed  that  they  played  with  a  stick  in 
each  hand,  when  the  Sioux  use  but  one  stick,  which  is  generally  held  in 
both  hands,  with  a  round  hoop  at  the  end,  in  which  the  ball  is  caught  and 
thrown  with  wonderful  tact ;  a  much  more  difficult  feat,  I  should  think,  than 
that  of  the  Choctaws,  who  catch  the  ball  between  two  sticks.  The  tail  also, 
in  this  tribe,  differs,  inasmuch  as  it  is  generally  made  of  quills,  instead  of 
white  horsehair,  as  described  amongst  the  Choctaws.  In  other  respects,  the 
rules  and  manner  of  the  game  are  the  same  as  amongst  those  tribes. 

Several  others  of  the  distinguts  of  the  tribe,  I  have  also  painted  here,  and 
must  needs  refer  the  reader  to  the  Museum  for  further  information  of  them. 


cc 


I/  f  !  \    \M 


I 


135 


LETTER— No.  51. 


FORT  SNELLING,  FALL  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 

THE  fourth  of  July  was  hailed  and  celebrated  by  us  at  this  place,  in  an 
unusual,  and  not  uninteresting  manner.  With  the  presence  of  several  hun 
dreds  of  the  wildest  of  the  Chippeways,  and  as  many  hundreds  of  the  Sioux  ; 
we  were  prepared  with  material  in  abundance  for  the  novel — for  the  wild 
and  grotesque, — as  well  as  for  the  grave  and  ludicrous.  Major  Talliafferro, 
the  Indian  agent,  to  aid  my  views  in  procuring  sketches  of  manners  and 
customs,  represented  to  them  that  I  was  a  great  medicine-man,  who  had 
visited,  and  witnessed  the  sports  of,  a  vast  many  Indians  of  different  tribes, 
and  had  come  to  see  whether  the  Sioux  and  Chippeways  were  equal  in  a 
ball-play,  &c.  to  their  neighbours  ;  and  that  if  they  would  come  in  on  the 
next  day  (fourth  of  July),  and  give  us  a  ball-play,  and  some  of  their  dances, 
in  their  best  style,  he  would  have  the  big  gun  fired  twenty-one  times  (the 
customary  salute  for  that  day),  which  they  easily  construed  into  a  high  com 
pliment  to  themselves.  This,  with  still  stronger  inducements,  a  barrel  of 
flour — a  quantity  of  pork  and  tobacco,  which  I  gave  them,  brought  the 
scene  about  on  the  day  of  independence,  as  follows : — About  eleven  o'clock 
(the  usual  time  for  Indians  to  make  their  appearance  on  any  great  occasion), 
the  young  men,  who  were  enlisted  for  ball-play,  made  their  appearance  on 
the  ground  with  ball-sticks  in  hand — with  no  other  dress  on  than  the  flap, 
and  attached  to  a  girdle  or  ornamental  sash,  a  tail,  extending  nearly  to  the 
ground,  made  of  the  choicest  arrangement  of  quills  and  feathers,  or  of  the 
hair  of  white  horses'  tails.  After  an  excited  and  warmly  contested  play  of 
two  hours,  they  adjourned  to  a  place  in  front  of  the  agent's  office,  where 
they  entertained  us  for  two  or  three  hours  longer,  with  a  continued  variety 
of  their  most  fanciful  and  picturesque  dances.  They  gave  us  the  beggar's 
dance — the  buffalo-dance — the  bear-dance — the  eagle-dance — and  dance  of 
the  braves.  This  last  is  peculiarly  beautiful,  and  exciting  to  the  feelings  in 
the  highest  degree. 

At  intervals  they  stop,  and  one  of  them  steps  into  the  ring,  and  voci 
ferates  as  loud  as  possible,  with  the  most  significant  gesticulations,  the  feats 
of  bravery  which  he  has  performed  during  his  life — he  boasts  of  the  scalps 
he  has  taken — of  the  enemies  he  has  vanquished,  and  at  the  same  time 
carries  his  body  through  all  the  motions  and  gestures,  which  have  been  used 


136 

during  these  scenes  when  they  were  transacted.  At  the  end  of  his  boasting, 
all  assent  to  the  truth  of  his  story,  and  give  in  their  approbation  by  the 
guttural  "waugh  /"  and  the  dance  again  commences.  At  the  next  interval, 
another  makes  his  boasts,  and  another,  and  another,  and  so  on. 

During  this  scene,  a  little  trick  was  played  off  in  the  following  manner, 
which  produced  much  amusement  and  laughter.  A  woman  of  goodly  size, 
and  in  woman's  attire,  danced  into  the  ring  (which  seemed  to  excite  some 
surprise,  as  women  are  never  allowed  to  join  in  the  dance),  and  commenced 
"  sawing  the  air,"  and  boasting  of  the  astonishing  feats  of  bravery  she  had 
performed — of  the  incredible  number  of  horses  she  had  stolen — of  the  scalps 
she  had  taken,  &c.  &c. ;  until  her  feats  surpassed  all  that  had  ever  been 
heard  of — sufficient  to  put  all  the  warriors  who  had  boasted,  to  the  blush. 
They  all  gave  assent,  however,  to  what  she  had  said,  and  apparently  credence 
too  ;  and  to  reward  so  extraordinary  a  feat  of  female  prowess,  they  presented 
to  her  a  kettle,  a  cradle,  beads,  ribbons,  &c.  After  getting  her  presents, 
and  placing  them  safely  in  the  hands  of  another  matron  for  safe  keeping,  she 
commenced  disrobing  herself ;  and,  almost  instantly  divesting  herself  of  a 
loose  dress,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  company,  came  out  in  a  soldier  s 
coat  and  pantaloons  !  and  laughed  at  them  excessively  for  their  mistake  ! 
She  then  commenced  dancing  and  making  her  boasts  of  her  exploits,  assur 
ing  them  that  she  was  a  man,  and  a  great  brave.  They  all  gave  unqualified 
assent  to  this,  acknowledged  their  error,  and  made  her  other  presents  of  a 
gun,  a  horse,  of  tobacco,  and  a  war-club.  After  her  boasts  were  done,  and 
the  presents  secured  as  before,  she  deliberately  threw  off  the  pantaloons  and 
coat,  and  presented  herself  at  once,  and  to  their  great  astonishment  and  con 
fusion,  in  a  beautiful  woman's  dress.  The  tact  with  which  she  performed  these 
parts,  so  uniformily  pleased,  that  it  drew  forth  thundering  applause  from  the 
Indians,  as  well  as  from  the  spectators  ;  and  the  chief  stepped  up  and 
crowned  her  head  with  a  beautiful  plume  of  the  eagle's  quill,  rising  from  a 
crest  of  the  swan's  down.  My  wife,  who  was  travelling  this  part  of  the 
country  with  me,  was  a  spectator  of  these  scenes,  as  well  as  the  ladies  and 
officers  of  the  garrison,  whose  polite  hospitality  we  are  at  this  time  enjoying. 

Several  days  after  this,  the  plains  of  St.  Peters  and  St.  Anthony,  rang 
with  the  continual  sounds  of  drums  and  rattles,  in  time  with  the  thrilling  yells 
of  the  dance,  until  it  had  doubly  ceased  to  be  novelty.  General  Patterson, 
of  Philadelphia,  and  his  family  arrived  about  this  time,  however,  and  a  dance 
was  got  up  for  their  amusement ;  and  it  proved  to  be  one  of  an  unusual 
kind,  and  interesting  to  all.  Considerable  preparation  was  made  for  the 
occasion,  and  the  Indians  informed  me,  that  if  they  could  get  a  couple  of 
dogs  that  were  of  no  use  about  the  garrison,  they  would  give  us  their  favour 
ite,  the  "dog  dance."  The  two  dogs  were  soon  produced  by  the  officers, 
and  in  presence  of  the  whole  assemblage  of  spectators,  they  butchered  them 
and  placed  their  two  hearts  and  livers  entire  and  uncooked,  on  a  couple  of 
crotches  about  as  high  as  a  man's  face  (PLATE  237).  These  were  then 


137 

cut  into  strips,  about  an  inch  in  width,  and  left  hanging  in  this  condition, 
with  the  blood  and  smoke  upon  them.  A  spirited  dance  then  ensued  ;  and, 
in  a  confused  manner,  every  one  sung  forth  his  own  deeds  of  bravery  in 
ejaculatory  gutturals,  which  were  almost  deafening ;  and  they  danced  up, 
two  at  a  time  to  the  stakes,  and  after  spitting  several  times  upon  the  liver  and 
hearts,  catched  a  piece  in  their  mouths,  bit  it  off,  and  swallowed  it.  This 
was  all  done  without  losing  the  step  (which  was  in  time  to  their  music),  or 
interrupting  the  times  of  their  voices. 

Each  and  every  one  of  them  in  this  wise  bit  off  and  swallowed  a  piece  of 
the  livers,  until  they  were  demolished ;  with  the  exception  of  the  two  last 
pieces  hanging  on  the  stakes,  which  a  couple  of  them  carried  in  their  mouths, 
and  communicated  to  the  mouths  of  the  two  musicians  who  swallowed  them. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  valued  dances  amongst  the  Sioux,  though  by  no 
means  the  most  beautiful  or  most  pleasing.  The  beggar's  dance,  the  discovery 
dance,  and  the  eagle  dance,  are  far  more  graceful  and  agreeable.  The 
dor)  dance  is  one  of  distinction,  inasmuch  as  it  can  only  be  danced  by  those 
who  have  taken  scalps  from  the  enemy's  heads,  and  come  forward  boasting, 
that  they  killed  their  enemy  in  battle,  and  swallowed  a  piece  of  his  heart  in 
the  same  manner. 

As  the  Sioux  own  and  occupy  all  the  country  on  the  West  bank  of  the 
river  in  this  vicinity ;  so  do  the  Chippeways  claim  all  lying  East,  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Chippeway  River,  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Pepin,  to  the  source  of 
the  Mississippi ;  and  within  the  month  past,  there  have  been  one  thousand  or 
more  of  them  encamped  here,  on  business  with  the  Indian  agent  and  Sioux, 
with  whom  they  have  recently  had  some  difficulty.  These  two  hostile  foes, 
who  have,  time  out  of  mind,  been  continually  at  war,  are  now  encamped 
here,  on  different  sides  of  the  Fort ;  and  all  difficulties  having  been  arranged 
by  their  agent,  in  whose  presence  they  have  been  making  their  speeches,  for 
these  two  weeks  past,  have  been  indulging  in  every  sort  of  their  amusements, 
uniting  in  their  dances,  ball- plays  and  other  games;  and  feasting  and 
smoking  together,  only  to  raise  the  war-cry  and  the  tomahawk  again,  when 
tliey  get  upon  their  hunting  grounds. 

Major  Talliafferro  is  the  Government  agent  for  the  Sioux  at  this  place,  and 
furnishes  the  only  instance  probably,  of  a  public  servant  on  these  frontiers, 
who  has  performed  the  duties  of  his  office,  strictly  and  faithfully,  as  well  as 
kindly,  for  fifteen  years.  The  Indians  think  much  of  him,  and  call  him 
Great  Father,  to  whose  advice  they  listen  with  the  greatest  attention. 

The  encampment  of  the  Chippeways,  to  which  I  have  been  a  daily  visitor, 
was  built  in  the  manner  seen  in  PLATE  238  ;  their  wigwams  made  of  birch 
bark,  covering  the  frame  work,  which  was  of  slight  poles  stuck  in  the  ground, 
and  bent  over  at  the  top,  so  as  to  give  a  rooflike  shape  to  the  lodge,  best 
calculated  to  ward  off  rain  and  winds. 

Through  this  curious  scene  I  was  strolling  a  few  days  since  with  my  wife, 
and  I  observed  the  Indian  women  gathering  around  her,  anxious  to  shake 

VOL.  i».  T 


138 

hands  with  her,  and  shew  her  their  children,  of  which  she  took  especial 
notice ;  and  they  literally  filled  her  hands  and  her  arms,  with  muk-kuks  of 
maple  sugar  which  they  manufacture,  and  had  brought  in,  in  great  quantities 
for  sale. 

After  the  business  and  amusements  of  this  great  Treaty  between  the  Chip- 
peways  and  Sioux  were  all  over,  the  Chippeways  struck  their  tents  by  taking 
them  down  and  rolling  up  their  bark  coverings,  which,  with  their  bark 
canoes  seen  in  the  picture,  turned  up  amongst  their  wigwams,  were  carried  to 
the  water's  edge  ;  and  all  things  being  packed  in,  men,  women,  dogs,  and  all, 
were  swiftly  propelled  by  paddles  to  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  where  we  had 
repaired  to  witness  their  mode  of  passing  the  cataract,  by  "  making  (as  it  is 
called)  the  portage,"  which  we  found  to  be  a  very  curious  scene  ;  and  was 
done  by  running  all  their  canoes  into  an  eddy  below  the  Fall,  and  as  near 
as  they  could  get  by  paddling  ;  when  all  were  landed,  and  every  thing  taken 
out  of  the  canoes  (PLATE  239),  and  with  them  carried  by  the  women,  around 
the  Fall,  and  half  a  mile  or  so  above,  where  the  canoes  were  put  into  the 
water  again  ;  and  goods  and  chattels  being  loaded  in,  and  all  hands  seated, 
the  paddles  were  again  put  to  work,  and  the  light  and  bounding  crafts  upon 
their  voyage. 

The  bark  canoe  of  the  Chippeways  is,  perhaps,  the  most  beautiful  and 
light  model  of  all  the  water  crafts  that  ever  were  invented.  They  are  gene 
rally  made  complete  with  the  rind  of  one  birch  tree,  and  so  ingeniously 
shaped  and  sewed  together,  with  roots  of  the  tamarack,  which  they  call 
wat-tap,  that  they  are  water-tight,  and  ride  upon  the  water,  as  light  as  a  cork. 
They  gracefully  lean  and  dodge  about,  under  the  skilful  balance  of  an  In 
dian,  or  the  ugliest  squaw;  but  like  everything  wild,  are  timid  and  trea 
cherous  under  the  guidance  of  white  man  ;  and,  if  he  be  not  an  experienced 
equilibrist,  he  is  sure  to  get  two  or  three  times  soused,  in  his  first  endeavours 
at  familiar  acquaintance  with  them.  In  PLATE  240,  letter  a,  the  reader  will 
see  two  specimens  of  these  canoes  correctly  drawn  ;  where  he  can  contrast 
them  and  their  shapes,  with  the  log  canoe,  letter  b,  (or  "  dug  out,"  as  it  is 
often  called  in  the  Western  regions)  of  the  Sioux,  and  many  other  tribes ; 
which  is  dug  out  of  a  solid  log,  with  great  labour,  by  these  ignorant  people, 
who  have  but  few  tools  to  work  with. 

In  the  same  plate,  letter  c,  I  have  also  introduced  the  skin  canoes  of  the 
Mandans,  (of  the  Upper  Missouri,  of  whom  I  have  spoken  in  Volume  I), 
which  are  made  almost  round  like  a  tub,  by  straining  a  buffalo's  skin  over  a 
frame  of  wicker  work,  made  of  willow  or  other  boughs.  The  woman  in 
paddling  these  awkward  tubs,  stands  in  the  bow,  and  makes  the  stroke 
with  the  paddle,  by  reaching  it  forward  in  the  water  and  drawing  it  to  her,  by 
which  means  she  pulls  the  canoe  along  with  some  considerable  speed.  These 
very  curious  and  rudely  constructed  canoes,  are  made  in  the  form  of  the 
Welsh  coracle ;  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  propelled  in  the  same  manner,  which 
is  a  very  curious  circumstance  ;  inasmuch  as  they  are  found  in  the  heart  of 


® 

< 


!  18 


m 


~~  " "  •        -  .'li^UlM^^ 


'240 


Tofenntl 


139 

the  great  wilderness  of  America,  when  all  the  other  surrounding  tribes 
construct  their  canoes  in  decidedly  different  forms,  and  of  different  ma 
terials. 

In  the  same  plate,  letter  d,  is  a  pair  of  Sioux  (and  in  letter  e,  of  Chippe- 
way)  snow  shoes,  which  are  used  in  the  deep  snows  of  the  winter,  under  the 
Indians'  feet,  to  buoy  him  up  as  he  runs  in  pursuit  of  his  game.  The  hoops 
or  frames  of  these  are  made  of  elastic  wood,  and  the  webbing,  of  strings  of 
rawhide,  which  form  such  a  resistance  to  the  snow,  as  to  carry  them  over 
without  sinking  into  it ;  and  enabling  them  to  come  up  with  their  game, 
which  is  wallowing  through  the  drifts,  and  easily  overtaken  ;  as  in  the  buf 
falo  hunt,  in  PLATE  109,  Volume  I. 

Of  the  portraits  of  chiefs  and  others  I  have  painted  amongst  the  Chippe- 
ways  at  this  place,  two  distinguished  young  men  will  be  seen  in  PLATES 
241,  242.  The  first  by  the  name  of  Ka-bes-kunk  (he  who  travels  every 
where),  the  other,  Ka-be-mub-be  (he  who  sits  everywhere),  both  painted  at 
full  length,  in  full  dress,  and  just  as  they  were  adorned  and  equipped,  even 
to  a  quill  and  a  trinket. 

The  first  of  these  two  young  men  is,  no  doubt,  one  of  the  most  remark 
able  of  his  age  to  be  found  in  the  tribe.  Whilst  he  was  standing  for  his 
portrait,  which  was  in  one  of  the  officer's  quarters  in  the  Fort,  where  there 
were  some  ten  or  fifteen  of  his  enemies  the  Sioux,  seated  on  the  floor  around 
the  room  ;  he  told  me  to  take  particular  pains  in  representing  eight  quills 
which  were  arranged  in  his  head-dress,  which  he  said  stood  for  so  many 
Sioux  scalps  that  he  had  taken  with  his  left  hand,  in  which  he  was  grasping 
his  war-club,  with  which  hand  he  told  me  he  was  in  the  habit  of  making  all 
his  blows. 

In  PLATE  244,  is  the  portrait  of  a  warrior  by  the  name  of  Ot-ta-wa  (the 

otaway),  with  his  pipe  in  his  hand  ;  and  in  PLATE  245,  the  portrait 

of  a  Chippeway  woman,  Ju-ah-kis-gaw,  with  her  child  in  its  crib  or  cradle. 
In  a  former  Letter  I  gave  a  minute  account  of  the  Sioux  cradle,  and  here 
the  reader  sees  the  very  similar  mode  amongst  the  Chjppeways  ;  and  as  in 
all  instances  that  can  be  found,  the  ni-ahkust-ahg  (or  umbilicus)  hanging 
before  the  child's  face  for  its  supernatural  protector. 

This  woman's  dress  was  mostly  made  of  civilized  manufactures,  but  curi 
ously  decorated  and  ornamented  according  to  Indian  taste. 

Many  were  the  dances  given  to  me  on  different  places,  of  which  I  may 
make  further  use  and  further  mention  on  future  occasions ;  but  of  which  I 
shall  name  but  one  at  present,  the  snow-shoe  dance  (PLATE  243),  which 
is  exceedingly  picturesque,  being  danced  with  the  snow  shoes  under  the  feet, 
at  the  falling  of  the  first  snow  in  the  beginning  of  winter  ;  when  they  sing  a 
song  of  thanksgiving  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  sending  them  a  return  of  snow, 
when  they  can  run  on  their  snow  shoes  in  their  valued  hunts,  and  easily 
take  the  game  for  their  food. 


140 

About  this  lovely  spot  I  have  whiled  away  a  few  months  with  great  plea 
sure,  and  having  visited  all  the  curiosities,  and  all  the  different  villages  of 
Indians  in  the  vicinity,  I  close  my  note-book  and  start  in  a  few  days  for 
Prairie  du  Chien,  which  is  300  miles  below  this ;  where  I  shall  have  new 
subjects  for  my  brush  and  new  themes  for  my  pen,  when  I  may  continue  my 
epistles.  Adieu. 


141 


LETTER— No.  52. 


CAMP  DES  MOINES. 

SOON  after  the  date  of  my  last  Letter,  written  at  St.  Peters,  having  placed 
my  wife  on  board  of  the  steamer,  with  a  party  of  ladies,  for  Prairie  du  Chien, 
I  embarked  in  a  light  bark  canoe,  on  my  homeward  course,  with  only  one 
companion,  Corporal  Allen,  from  the  garrison  ;  a  young  man  of  considerable 
taste,  who  thought  he  could  relish  the  transient  scenes  of  a  voyage  in  com 
pany  with  a  painter,  having  gained  the  indulgence  of  Major  Bliss,  the  com 
manding  officer,  with  permission  to  accompany  me. 

With  stores  laid  in  for  a  ten  day's  voyage,  and  armed  for  any  emergency 
— with  sketch-book  and  colours  prepared,  we  shoved  off  and  swiftly  glided 
away  with  paddles  nimbly  plied,  resolved  to  see  and  relish  every  thing 
curious  or  beautiful  that  fell  in  our  way.  We  lingered  along,  among  the 
scenes  of  grandeur  which  presented  themselves  amid  the  thousand  bluffs, 
and  arrived  at  Prairie  du  Chien  in  about  ten  days,  in  good  plight,  without 
accident  or  incident  of  a  thrilling  nature,  with  the  exception  of  one  instance 
which  happened  about  thirty  miles  below  St.  Peters,  and  on  the  first  day  of 
our  journey.  In  the  after  part  of  the  day,  we  discovered  three  lodges  of 
Sioux  Indians  encamped  on  the  bank,  all  hallooing  and  waving  their  blankets 
for  us  to  come  in,  to  the  shore.  We  had  no  business  with  them,  and  resolved 
to  keep  on  our  course,  when  one  of  them  ran  into  his  lodge,  and  coming  out 
with  his  gun  in  his  hand,  levelled  it  at  us,  and  gave  us  a  charge  of  buck-shot 
about  our  ears.  One  of  them  struck  in  my  canoe,  passing  through  several  folds 
of  my  cloak,  which  was  folded,  and  lying  just  in  front  of  my  knee,  and 
several  others  struck  so  near  on  each  side  as  to  spatter  the  water  into  our 
faces.  There  was  no  fun  in  this,  and  I  then  ran  my  canoe  to  the  shore  as 
fast  as  possible — they  all  ran,  men,  women,  and  children,  to  the  water's 
edge,  meeting  us  with  yells  and  laughter  as  we  landed.  As  the -canoe  struck 
the  shore,  I  rose  violently  from  my  seat,  and  throwing  all  the  infuriated 
demon  I  could  into  my  face — thrusting  rny  pistols  into  my  belt — a  half 
dozen  bullets  into  my  mouth — and  my  double-barrelled  gun  in  my  hand 
— I  leaped  ashore  and  chased  the  lot  of  them  from  the  beach,  throwing 
myself,  by  a  nearer  route,  between  them  and  their  wigwams,  where  I  kept 
them  for  some  time  at  a  stand,  with  my  barrels  presented,  and  threats 
(corroborated  with  looks  which  they  could  not  misunderstand)  that  I  would 


142 

annihilate  the  whole  of  them  in  a  minute.  As  the  gun  had  been  returned  to 
the  lodge,  and  the  man  who  fired  it  could  not  be  identified,  the  rascal's  life 
was  thereby  probably  prolonged.  We  stood  for  some  time  in  this  position, 
and  no  explanation  could  be  made,  other  than  that  which  could  be  read  from 
the  lip  and  the  brow,  a  language  which  is  the  same,  and  read  alike,  among 
all  nations.  I  slipped  my  sketch-book  and  pencil  into  my  hand,  and  under 
the  muzzle  of  my  gun,  each  fellow  stood  for  his  likeness,  which  I  made  them 
understand,  by  signs,  were  to  be  sent  to  "  Muzzabucksa"  (iron  cutter),  the 
name  they  gave  to  Major  Talliafferro,  their  agent  at  St.  Peters. 

This  threat,  and  the  continued  vociferation  of  the  corporal  from  the  canoe, 
that  I  was  a  "  Grande  Capitaine,"  seemed  considerably  to  alarm  them.  I  at 
length  gradually  drew  myself  off,  but  with  a  lingering  eye  upon  the  sneaking 
rascals,  who  stood  in  sullen  silence,  with  one  eye  upon  me,  and  the  other 
upon  the  corporal ;  who  I  found  had  held  them  at  bay  from  the  bow  of  his 
canoe,  with  his  musket  levelled  upon  them — his  bayonet  fixed — his  cartouch 
box  slung,  with  one  eye  in  full  blaze  over  the  barrel,  and  the  other  drawn 
down  within  two  parts  of  an  inch  of  the  upper  corner  of  his  mouth.  At  my 
approach,  his  muscles  were  gradually  (but  somewhat  reluctantly)  relaxed. 
We  seated  ourselves,  and  quietly  dipped  our  paddles  again  on  our  way. 

Some  allowance  must  be  made  for  this  outrage,  and  many  others  that 
could  be  named,  that  have  taken  place  amongst  that  part  of  the  Sioux 
nation  ;  they  have  been  for  many  years  past  made  drunkards,  by  the  solici 
tations  of  white  men,  and  then  abused,  and  their  families  also  ;  for  which, 
when  they  are  drunk  (as  in  the  present  instance),  they  are  often  ready,  and 
disposed  to  retaliate  and  to  return  insult  for  injuries. 

We  went  on  peaceably  and  pleasantly  during  the  rest  of  our  voyage, 
having  ducks,  deer,  and  bass  for  our  game  and  our  food  ;  our  bed  was 
generally  on  the  grass  at  the  foot  of  some  towering  bluff,  where,  in  the 
melancholy  stillness  of  night,  we  were  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  liquid  notes  of 
the  whip-poor-will ;  and  after  his  warbling  ceased,  roused  by  the  mournful 
complaints  of  the  starving  wolf,  or  surprised  by  the  startling  interrogation, 
"  who  !  who  !  who  !"  by  the  winged  monarch  of  the  dark. 

There  is  a  something  that  fills  and  feeds  the  mind  of  an  enthusiastic  man, 
when  he  is  thrown  upon  natural  resources,  amidst  the  rude  untouched  scenes 
of  nature,  which  cannot  be  described  ;  and  I  leave  the  world  to  imagine  the 
feelings  of  pleasure  with  which  I  found  myself  again  out  of  the  din  of  artful 
life,  among  scenes  of  grandeur  worthy  the  whole  soul's  devotion,  and 
admiration. 

When  the  morning's  dew  was  shaken  off,  our  coffee  enjoyed — our  light 
bark  again  launched  upon  the  water,  and  the  chill  of  the  morning  banished 
by  the  quick  stroke  of  the  paddle,  and  the  busy  chaunt  of  the  corporal's 
boat-song,  our  ears  and  our  eyes  were  open  to  the  rude  scenes  of  romance 
that  were  about  us — our  light  boat  ran  to  every  ledge — dodged  into  every 
slough  or  cut-off"  to  be  seen — every  mineral  was  examined — every  cave  ex- 


]&^^f&^^'ff^rw^^^^^^^^^'^r 


143 

plored — and  almost  every  bluff  of  grandeur  ascended  to  the  top.  These 
towering  edifices  of  nature,  which  will  stand  the  admiration  of  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands,  unchanged  and  unchangeable,  though  grand  and 
majestic  to  the  eye  of  the  passing  traveller,  will  be  found  to  inspire  new 
ideas  of  magnitude  when  attempted  to  be  travelled  to  the  top.  From  the 
tops  of  many  of  them  I  have  sketched  for  the  information  of  the  world,  and 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who  travel  much,  I  would  recommend  a  trip  to  the 
summit  of  "  Pike's  Tent"  (the  highest  bluff  on  the  river),  100  miles  above 
Prairie  du  Chien  ;  to  the  top  also  of  "  La  Montaigne  qui  tromps  a  1'eau" — the 
summit  of  Bad  Axe  Mountain — and  a  look  over  Lake  Pepin's  turretted 
shores  from  the  top  of  the  bluff  opposite  to  the  "  Lover's  Leap,"  being  the 
highest  on  the  lake,  and  the  point  from  which  the  greater  part  of  its  shores 
can  be  seen. 

Along  the  shores  of  this  beautiful  lake  we  lingered  for  several  days,  and 
our  canoe  was  hauled  a  hundred  times  upon  the  pebbly  beach,  where  we 
spent  hours  and  days,  robbing  it  of  its  precious  gems,  which  are  thrown  up 
by  the  waves.  We  found  many  rich  agates,  carnelians,  jaspers,  and  por- 
phyrys.  The  agates  are  many  of  them  peculiarly  beautiful,  most  of  them 
water-waved — their  colours  brilliant  and  beautifully  striated.  "  Point  aux 
Sables"  has  been  considered  the  most  productive  part  of  the  lake  for  these 
gems  ;  but  owing  to  the  frequent  landings  of  the  steam-boats  and  other  craft 
on  that  point,  the  best  specimens  of  them  have  been  picked  up ;  and  the 
traveller  will  now  be  best  remunerated  for  his  trouble,  by  tracing  the  shore 
around  into  some  of  its  coves,  or  on  some  of  its  points  less  frequented  by 
the  footsteps  of  man. 

The  Lover's  Leap  (PLATE  248),  is  a  bold  and  projecting  rock,  of  six  or 
seven  hundred  feet  elevation  on  the  East  side  of  the  lake,  from  the  sum 
mit  of  which,  it  is  said,  a  beautiful  Indian  girl,  the  daughter  of  a  chief, 
threw  herself  off  in  presence  of  her  tribe,  some  fifty  years  ago,  and  dashed 
herself  to  pieces,  to  avoid  being  married  to  a  man  whom  her  father  had 
decided  to  be  her  husband,  and  whom  she  would  not  marry.  On  our  way, 
after  we  had  left  the  beautiful  shores  of  Lake  Pepin,  we  passed  the  magni 
ficent  bluff  called  "  Pike's  Tent"  (PLATE  249),  and  undoubtedly,  the 
highest  eminence  on  the  river,  running  up  in  the  form  of  a  tent ;  from  which 
circumstance,  and  that  of  having  first  been  ascended  by  Lieutenant  Pike, 
it  has  taken  the  name  of  Pike's  Tent,  which  it  will,  doubtless,  for  ever  retain. 

The  corporal  and  I  run  our  little  craft  to  the  base  of  this  stupendous 
pyramid,  and  spent  half  a  day  about  its  sides  and  its  pinnacle,  admiring  the 
lovely  and  almost  boundless  landscape  that  lies  beneath  it. 

To  the  top  of  this  grass-covered  mound  I  would  advise  every  traveller  in 
the  country,  who  has  the  leisure  to  do  it,  and  sinew  enough  in  his  leg,  to 
stroll  awhile,  and  enjoy  what  it  may  be  difficult  for  him  to  see  elsewhere. 

"  Cap  au  Vail"  (Garlic  Cape,  PLATE  250),  about  twenty  miles  above 
Prairie  du  Chien  is  another  beautiful  scene — and  the  "  Cornice  Rocks" 


144 

(PLATE  251),  on  the  West  bank,  where  my  little  bark  rested  two  days,  till 
the  corporal  and  I  had  taken  bass  from  every  nook  and  eddy  about  them, 
where  our  hooks  could  be  dipped.  To  the  lover  of  fine  fish,  and  fine  sport 
in  fishing,  I  would  recommend  an  encampment  for  a  few  days  on  this  pic 
turesque  ledge,  where  his  appetite  and  his  passion  will  be  soon  gratified. 

Besides  these  picturesque  scenes,  I  made  drawings  also  of  all  the  Indian 
villages  on  the  way,  and  of  many  other  interesting  points,  which  are  curious 
in  my  Collection,  but  too  numerous  to  introduce  in  this  place. 

In  the  midst,  or  half-way  of  Lake  Pepin,  which  is  an  expansion  of  the 
river  of  four  or  five  miles  in  width,  and  twenty-five  miles  in  length,  the 
corporal  and  I  hauled  our  canoe  out  upon  the  beach  of  Point  aux  Sables, 
where  we  spent  a  couple  of  days,  feasting  on  plums  and  tine  fish  and  wild  fowl, 
and  filling  our  pockets  with  agates  and  carnelians  we  were  picking  up  along 
the  pebbly  beach ;  and  at  last,  started  on  our  way  for  the  outlet  of  the 
lake,  with  a  fair  North  West  wind,  which  wafted  us  along  in  a  delightful 
manner,  as  I  sat  in  the  stern  and  steered,  while  the  corporal  was  "  catching 
the  breeze"  in  a  large  umbrella,  which  he  spread  open  and  held  in  the  bow. 
We  went  merrily  and  exultingly  on  in  this  manner,  until  at  length  the  wind 
increased  to  anything  but  a  gale ;  and  the  waves  were  foaming  white,  and 
dashing  on  the  shores  where  we  could  not  land  without  our  frail  bark  being 
broken  to  pieces.  We  soon  became  alarmed,  and  saw  that  our  only  safety 
was  in  keeping  on  the  course  that  we  were  running  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  that 
with  our  sail  full  set,  to  brace  up  and  steady  our  boat  on  the  waves,  while 
we  kept  within  swimming  distance  of  the  shore,  resolved  to  run  into  the 
first  cove,  or  around  the  first  point  we  could  find  for  our  protection. 
We  kept  at  an  equal  distance  from  the  shore — and  in  this  most  critical 
condition,  the  wind  drove  us  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  without  a  landing-place, 
till  we  exultingly  steered  into  the  mouth  of  the  Chippeway  river,  at  the 
outlet  of  the  lake,  where  we  soon  found  quiet  and  safety ;  but  found  our 
canoe  in  a  sinking  condition,  being  half  full  of  water,  and  having  three  of 
the  five  of  her  beams  or  braces  broken  out,  with  which  serious  disasters,  a 
few  rods  more  of  the  fuss  and  confusion  would  have  sent  us  to  the  bottom. 
We  here  laid  by  part  of  a  day,  and  having  repaired  our  disasters,  wended 
our  way  again  pleasantly  and  successfully  on. 

At  Prairie  du  Chien,  which  is  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ouisconsin  River, 
and  600  miles  above  St.  Louis,  where  we  safely  landed  my  canoe,  I  found 
my  wife  enjoying  the  hospitality  of  Mrs.  Judge  Lockwood,  who  had  been  a 
schoolmate  of  mine  in  our  childhood,  and  is  now  residing  with  her  interesting 
family  in  that  place.  Under  her  hospitable  roof  we  spent  a  few  weeks  with 
great  satisfaction,  after  which  my  wife  took  steamer  for  Dubuque,  and  I  took 
to  my  little  bark  canoe  alone  (having  taken  leave  of  the  corporal),  which  I 
paddled  to  this  place,  quite  leisurely — cooking  my  own  meat,  and  having 
my  own  fun  as  I  passed  along. 

Prairie  du  Chien  (PLATE  253)  has  been  one  of  the  earliest  and  principal 


/ 


5      ! 

' 

' 

V        L. 

M.^- -      -ix'  -y^ 


250 


a  51 


Jtyvr*  &  C?*c 


3  i  ft          V  ?ry*l 

m 


trading  posts  of  the  Fur  Company,  and  they  now  have  a  large  establishment 
at  that  place  ;  but  doing  far  less  business  than  formerly,  owing  to  the  great 
mortality  of  the  Indians  in  its  vicinity,  and  the  destruction  of  the  game, 
which  has  almost  entirely  disappeared  in  these  regions.  The  prairie  is  a  beau 
tiful  elevation  above  the  river,  of  several  miles  in  length,  and  a  mile  or  so  in 
width,  with  a  most  picturesque  range  of  grassy  bluffs  encompassing  it  in 
the  rear.  The  Government  have  erected  there  a  substantial  Fort,  in  which 
are  generally  stationed  three  or  four  companies  of  men,  for  the  purpose  (as 
at  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony)  of  keeping  the  peace  amongst  the  hostile  tribes, 
and  also  of  protecting  the  frontier  inhabitants  from  the  attacks  of  the  ex 
cited  savages.  There  are  on  the  prairie  some  forty  or  fifty  families,  mostly 
French,  and  some  half-breeds,  whose  lives  have  been  chiefly  spent  in  the 
arduous  and  hazardous  occupations  of  trappers,  and  traders,  and  voyageurs; 
which  has  well  qualified  them  for  the  modes  of  dealing  with  Indians,  where 
they  have  settled  down  and  stand  ready  to  compete  with  one  another  for 
their  shares  of  annuities,  &c.  which  are  dealt  out  to  the  different  tribes  who 
concentrate  at  that  place,  and  are  easily  drawn  from  the  poor  Indians'  hands 
by  whiskey  and  useless  gew-gaws. 

The  consequence  of  this  system  is,  that  there  is  about  that  place,  almost 
one  continual  scene  of  wretchedness,  and  drunkenness,  and  disease  amongst 
the  Indians,  who  come  there  to  trade  and  to  receive  their  annuities,  that 
disgusts  and  sickens  the  heart  of  every  stranger  that  extends  his  travels 
to  it. 

When  I  was  there,  Wa-be-sha's  band  of  the  Sioux  came  there,  and  re 
mained  several  weeks  to  get  their  annuities,  which,  when  they  received  them, 
fell  (as  they  always  will  do),  far  short  of  paying  off  the  account,  which  the 
Traders  take  good  care  to  have  standing  against  them  for  goods  furnished 
them  on  a  year's  credit.  However,  whether  they  pay  off  or  not,  they  can 
always  get  whiskey  enough  for  a  grand  carouse  and  a  brawl,  which  lasts 
for  a  week  or  two,  and  almost  sure  to  terminate  the  lives  of  some  of  their 
numbers. 

At  the  end  of  one  of  these  a  few  days  since,  after  the  men  had  enjoyed 
their  surfeit  of  whiskey,  and  wanted  a  little  more  amusement,  and  felt  dis 
posed  to  indulge  the  weaker  sex  in  a  little  recreation  also  ;  it  was  announced 
amongst  them,  and  through  the  village,  that  the  women  were  going  to  have 
a  ball-play ! 

For  this  purpose  the  men,  in  their  very  liberal  trades  they  were  making, 
and  filling  their  canoes  with  goods  delivered  to  them  on  a  year's  credit,  laid 
out  a  great  quantity  of  ribbons  and  calicoes,  with  other  presents  well  adapted 
to  the  wants  and  desires  of  the  women  ;  which  were  hung  on  a  pole  resting 
on  crotches,  and  guarded  by  an  old  man,  who  was  to  be  judge  and  umpire 
of  the  play  which  was  to  take  place  amongst  the  women,  who  were  divided 
into  two  equal  parties,  and  were  to  play  a  desperate  game  of  ball,  for  the 
valuable  stakes  that  were  hanging  before  them  (PLATE  252). 

VOL.   n.  u 


146 

In  the  ball-play  of  the  women,  they  have  two  balls  attached  to  the  ends  of 
a  string,  about  a  foot  and  a  half  long ;  and  each  woman  has  a  short  stick  in 
each  hand,  on  which  she  catches  the  string  with  the  two  balls,  and  throws 
them,  endeavouring  to  force  them  over  the  goal  of  her  own  party.  The  men 
are  more  than  half  drunk,  when  they  feel  liberal  enough  to  indulge  the 
women  in  such  an  amusement ;  and  take  infinite  pleasure  in  rolling  about  on 
the  ground  and  laughing  to  excess,  whilst  the  women  are  tumbling  about  in 
all  attitudes,  and  scuffling  for  the  ball.  The  game  of  "  hunt  the  slipper" 
even,  loses  its  zest  after  witnessing  one  of  these,  which  sometimes  last  for 
hours  together  ;  and  often  exhibits  the  hottest  contest  for  the  balls,  exactly 
over  the  heads  of  the  men  ;  who,  half  from  whiskey,  and  half  from  inclina 
tion,  are  laying  in  groups  and  flat  upon  the  ground. 

Prairie  du  Chien  is  the  concentrating  place  of  the  Winnebagoes  and  Me- 
nomonies,  who  inhabit  the  waters  of  the  Ouisconsin  and  Fox  Rivers,  and  the 
chief  part  of  the  country  lying  East  of  the  Mississippi,  and  West  of  Green 
Bay. 

The  Winnebagoes  are  the  remnant  of  a  once  powerful  and  warlike  tribe,  but 
are  now  left  in  a  country  where  they  have  neither  beasts  or  men  to  war  with  ; 
and  are  in  a  most  miserable  and  impoverished  condition.  The  numbers  of  this 
tribe  do  not  exceed  four  thousand  ;  and  the  most  of  them  have  sold  even 
their  guns  and  ammunition  for  whiskey.  Like  the  Sioux  and  Menomonies 
that  come  in  to  this  post,  they  have  several  times  suffered  severely  with  the 
small-pox,  which  has  in  fact  destroyed  the  greater  proportion  of  them. 

In  PLATE  254,  will  be  seen  the  portrait  of  an  old  chief,  who  died  a  few 
years  since  ;  and  who  was  for  many  years  the  head  chief  of  the  tribe,  by  the 
name  of  Naw-kaio  (wood).  This  man  has  been  much  distinguished  in  his 
time,  for  his  eloquence  ;  and  he  desired  me  to  paint  him  in  the  attitude  of 
an  orator,  addressing  his  people. 

PLATE  255,  is  a  distinguished  man  of  the  Winnebago  tribe,  by  the  name 
of  Wah-chee-hahs-ka  (the  man  who  puts  all  out  of  doors),  commonly  called 
the  "  boxer."  The  largest  man  of  the  tribe,  with  rattle-snake's  skins  on  his 
arms,  and  his  war-club  in  his  hand.* 

In  PLATE  256  is  seen  a  warrior,  Kaw-kaw-ne-choo-a  ;  and  in  PLATE 
257  another,  Wa-kon-zee-kaw  (the  snake),  both  at  full  length;  and  fair 
specimens  of  the  tribe,  who  are  generally  a  rather  short  and  thick-set,  square 
shouldered  set  of  men,  of  great  strength,  and  of  decided  character  as  brave 
and  desperate  in  war. 

Besides  the  chief  and  warriors  above-named,  I  painted  the  portraits  of 
Won-de-tow-a  (the  wonder),  Wa-kon-chash-kaw  (he  who  comes  on  the 

*  This  man  died  of  the  small-pox  the  next  summer  after  this  portrait  was  painted. 
Whilst  the  small-pox  was  raging  so  bad  at  the  Prairie,  he  took  the  disease,  and  in  a 
rage  plunged  into  the  river,  and  swam  across  to  the  island  where  he  dragged  his  body 
out  upon  the  beach,  and  there  died,  and  his  bones  were  picked  by  dogs,  without  any 
friend  to  give  him  burial. 


.• 


10 


. 


258 


259 


260 


261 


147 

thunder),  Nau-naw-pay-ee  (the  soldier),  Span-e-o-nee-kaw  (the  Spaniard), 
Hoo-wan-ee-kaw  (the  little  elk),  No-ah-choo-she-kaw  (he  who  breaks  the 
bushes),  and  Naugh-haigh-ke-kaw  (he  who  moistens  the  wood),  all  distin 
guished  men  of  the  tribe  ;  and  all  at  full  length,  as  they  will  be  seen  stand 
ing  in  my  Collection. 

THE  MENOMONIES, 

Like  the  Winnebagoes,  are  the  remnant  of  a  much  more  numerous  and  in 
dependent  tribe,  but  have  been  reduced  and  enervated  by  the  use  of  whiskey 
and  the  ravages  of  the  small- pox,  and  number  at  this  time,  something  like 
three  thousand,  living  chiefly  on  the  banks  of  Fox  Hirer,  and  the  Western 
shore  of  Green  Bay.  They  visit  Prairie  du  Chien,  where  their  annuities  are 
paid  them  ;  and  they  indulge  in  the  bane,  like  the  tribes  that  I  have 
mentioned. 

Of  this  tribe,  I  have  painted  quite  a  number  of  their  leading  characters,  and 
at  the  head  of  them  all,  Mah-kee-me-teuv  (the  grizzly  bear,  PLATE  258), 
with  a  handsome  pipe  in  his  hand  ;  and  by  the  side  of  him  his  wife  Me- 
cheet-e-neuh  (the  wounded  bear's  shoulder,  PLATE  259).  Both  of  these 
have  died  since  their  portraits  were  painted.  This  dignified  chief  led  a  dele 
gation  of  fifteen  of  his  people  to  Washington  City,  some  years  since,  and  there 
commanded  great  respect  for  his  eloquence,  and  dignity  of  deportment. 

In  PLATE  260  is  the  portrait  of  Chee-me-na-na-quet  (the  great  cloud), 
son  of  the  chief — an  ill-natured  and  insolent  fellow  who  has  since  been  killed 
for  some  of  his  murderous  deeds.  PLATE  261,  is  the  portrait  of  a  fine  boy, 
whose  name  is  Tcha-kauks-o-ko-maugh  (the  great  chief).  This  tribe  living 
out  of  the  reach  of  buffaloes,  cover  themselves  with  blankets,  instead  of 
robes,  and  wear  a  profusion  of  beads  and  wampum,  and  other  trinkets. 

In  PLATE  262,  is  Coo-coo-coo  (the  owl),  a  very  aged  and  emaciated 
chief,  whom  I  painted  at  Green  Bay,  in  Fort  Howard.  He  had  been  a 
distinguished  man,  but  now  in  his  dotage,  being  more  than  100  years  old — 
and  a  great  pet  of  the  surgeon  and  officers  of  the  post. 

In  PLATE  263,  are  two  Menominee  youths  at  full  length,  in  beautiful 
dresses,  whose  names  I  did  not  get— one  with  his  war-club  in  his  hand, 
and  the  other  blowing  on  his  "  courting  flute,"  which  I  have  before  de 
scribed. 

In  addition  to  these  I  have  painted  of  this  tribe,  and  placed  in  my  Col 
lection,  the  portraits  of  Ko-man-i-kin-o-shaw  (the  little  whale)  ;  Sha-wa-no 

(the  South)  ;  Mash-kee-wet  (the  thought)  ;  Pak-shee-nau-shaw  ( )  ; 

Au-nah-quet-o-hau-pay-o  (the  one  sitting  in  the  clouds) ;  Auh-ka-na-paw- 
wah  (earth  standing)  ;  Ko-man-ni-kin  (the  big  wave)  ;  0-ho-pa-sha  (the 
small  whoop) ;  Au-wah-shew-kew  (the  female  bear) ;  and  Chesh-ko-tong 
(he  who  sings  the  war-song). 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  reader,  from  the  above  facts,  that  I  have  been  lay 
ing  up  much  curious  and  valuable  record  of  people  and  customs  in  these 

u  2 


148 

regions ;  and  it  will  be  seen  at  the  same  time,  from  the  brief  manner  in 
which  I  have  treated  of  these  semi-civilized  tribes,  which  every  body  can  see, 
and  thousands  have  seen,  that  my  enthusiasm,  as  I  have  before  explained, 
has  led  me  more  into  minuteness  and  detail  amongst  those  tribes  which  are 
living  in  their  unchanged  native  modes,  whose  customs  I  have  been  ambi 
tious  to  preserve  for  ages  to  come,  before  the  changes  that  civilized  acquain 
tance  will  soon  work  upon  them. 

The  materials  which  I  am  daily  gathering,  however,  are  interesting  ;  and 
I  may  on  a  future  occasion  use  them — but  in  an  epistle  of  this  kind,  there  is 
not  room  for  the  incidents  of  a  long  voyage,  or  for  a  minute  description  of 
the  country  and  the  people  in  it ;  so,  what  I  have  said  must  suffice  for  the 
present.  I  lingered  along  the  shores  of  this  magnificent  river  then,  in  my 
fragile  bark,  to  Prairie  du  Chien — Dubuque — Galena,  to  Rock  Island,  and 
lastly  to  this  place. 

During  such  a  Tour  between  the  almost  endless  banks,  carpeted  with  green, 
with  one  of  the  richest  countries  in  the  world,  extending  back  in  every  direc 
tion,  the  mind  of  a  contemplative  man  is  continually  building  for  posterity 
splendid  seats,  cities,  towers  and  villas,  which  a  few  years  of  rolling  time 
will  bring  about,  with  new  institutions,  new  states,  and  almost  empires  ;  for 
it  would  seem  that  this  vast  region  of  rich  soil  and  green  fields,  was  almost 
enough  for  a  world  of  itself. 

I  hauled  my  canoe  out  of  the  water  at  Dubuque,  where  I  joined  my  wife 
again  in  the  society  of  kind  and  hospitable  friends,  and  found  myself  amply 
repaid  for  a  couple  of  weeks'  time  spent  in  the  examination  of  the  extensive 
lead  mines ;  walking  and  creeping  through  caverns,  some  eighty  or  one  hun 
dred  feet  below  the  earth's  surface,  decked  in  nature's  pure  livery  of  stalactites 
and  spar — with  walls,  and  sometimes  ceilings,  of  glistening  massive  lead. 
And  I  hold  yet  (and  ever  shall)  in  my  mind,  without  loss  of  a  fraction  of 
feature  or  expression,  the  image  of  one  of  my  companions,  and  the  scene 
that  at  one  time  was  about  him.  His  name  is  Jeffries.  We  were  in  "  Lock- 
wood's  Cave,"  my  wife  and  another  lady  were  behind,  and  he  advancing 
before  me  ;  his  ribs,  more  elastic  than  mine,  gave  him  entrance  through  a 
crevice,  into  a  chamber  yet  unexplored  ;  he  dared  the  pool,  for  there  was 
one  of  icy  water,  and  translucent  as  the  air  itself.  We  stood  luckless  spec 
tators,  to  gaze  and  envy,  while  he  advanced.  The  lighted  flambeau  in  his 
hand  brought  the  splendid  furniture  of  this  tesselated  palace  into  view  ;  the 
surface  of  the  jostled  pool  laved  his  sides  as  he  advanced,  and  the  rich 
stalagmites  that  grew  up  from  the  bottom  reflected  a  golden  light  through 
the  water,  while  the  walls  and  ceiling  were  hung  with  stalactites  which 
glittered  like  diamonds. 

In  this  wise  he  stood  in  silent  gaze,  in  awe  and  admiration  of  the  hidden 
works  of  Nature  ;  his  figure,  as  high  as  the  surface  of  the  water,  was  mag 
nified  into  a  giant — and  his  head  and  shoulders  not  unfit  for  a  cyclop.  In 
fact,  he  was  a  perfect  figure  of  Vulcan.  The  water  in  which  he  stood  was 


;  x   a  '  ^-.  i  (  <    \ 

•m 


149 

a  lake  of  liquid  fire — he  held  a  huge  hammer  in  his  right  hand,  and  a 
flaming  thunderbolt  in  his  left,  which  he  had  just  forged  for  Jupiter.  There 
was  but  one  thing  wanting,  it  was  the  "  sound  of  the  hammer  !  "  which  was 
soon  given  in  peals  upon  the  beautiful  pendents  of  stalactite  and  spar,  which 
sent  back  and  through  the  cavern,  the  hollow  tones  of  thunder. 

A  visit  of  a  few  days  to  Dubuque  will  be  worth  the  while  of  every  travel 
ler  ;  and  for  the  speculator  and  man  of  enterprize,  it  affords  the  finest  field 
now  open  in  our  country.  It  is  a  small  town  of  200  houses,  built  entirely 
within  the  last  two  years,  on  one  of  the  most  delightful  sites  on  the  river, 
and  in  the  heart  of  the  richest  and  most  productive  parts  of  the  mining 
region ;  having  this  advantage  over  most  other  mining  countries,  that  im 
mediately  over  the  richest  (and  in  fact  all)  of  the  lead  mines ;  the  land  on 
the  surface  produces  the  finest  corn,  and  all  other  vegetables  that  may  be 
put  into  it.  This  is  certainly  the  richest  section  of  country  on  the  Continent, 
and  those  who  live  a  few  years  to  witness  the  result,  will  be  ready  to  sanction 
my  assertion,  that  it  is  to  be  the  mint  of  our  country. 

From  Dubuque,  I  descended  the  river  on  a  steamer,  with  my  bark  canoe 
laid  on  its  deck,  and  my  wife  was  my  companion,  to  Camp  Des  Moines, 
from  whence  I  am  now  writing. 

After  arriving  at  this  place,  which  is  the  wintering  post  of  Colonel  Kear 
ney,  with  his  three  companies  of  dragoons,  I  seated  my  wife  and  two 
gentlemen  of  my  intimate  acquaintance,  in  my  bark  canoe,  and  paddled 
them  through  the  Des  Moine's  Rapids,  a  distance  of  fourteen  miles,  which 
we  performed  in  a  very  short  time ;  and  at  the  foot  of  the  Rapids,  placed 
my  wife  on  the  steamer  for  St.  Louis,  in  company  with  friends,  when  I  had 
some  weeks  to  return  on  my  track,  and  revert  back  again  to  the  wild  and 
romantic  life  that  1  occasionally  love  to  lead.  I  returned  to  Camp  Des 
Moines,  and  in  a  few  days  joined  General  Street,  the  Indian  Agent,  in  a 
Tour  to  Ke-o-kuck's  village  of  Sacs  and  Foxes. 

Colonel  Kearney  gave  us  a  corporal's  command  of  eight  men,  with  horses, 
&c.  for  the  journey  ;  and  we  reached  the  village  in  two  days'  travel,  about 
sixty  miles  up  the  Des  Moines.  The  whole  country  that  we  passed  over 
was  like  a  garden,  wanting  only  cultivation,  being  mostly  prairie,  and  we 
found  their  village  beautifully  situated  on  a  large  prairie,  on  the  bank  of  the 
Des  Moines  River.  They  seemed  to  be  well  supplied  with  the  neces 
saries  of  life,  and  with  some  of  its  luxuries.  I  found  Ke-o-kuck  to  be  a 
chief  of  fine  and  portly  figure,  with  a  good  countenance,  and  great  dignity 
and  grace  in  his  manners. 

General  Street  had  some  documents  from  Washington,  to  read  to  him, 
which  he  and  his  chiefs  listened  to  with  great  patience ;  after  which  he 
placed  before  us  good  brandy  and  good  wine,  and  invited  us  to  drink,  and  to 
lodge  with  him  ;  he  then  called  up  five  of  his  runners  or  criers,  communi 
cated  to  them  in  a  low,  but  emphatic  tone,  the  substance  of  the  talk  from 
the  agent,  and  of  the  letters  read  to  him,  and  they  started  at  full  gallop — 


150 

one  of  them  proclaiming  it  through  his  village,  and  the  others  sent  express 
to  the  other  villages,  comprising  the  whole  nation.  Ke-o-kuck  came  in  with 
us,  with  about  twenty  of  his  principal  men — he  brought  in  all  his  costly 
wardrobe,  that  I  might  select  for  his  portrait  such  as  suited  me  best;  but 
at  once  named  (of  his  own  accord)  the  one  that  was  purely  Indian.  In  that 
he  paraded  for  several  days,  and  in  it  I  painted  him  at  full  length.  He  is  a 
man  of  a  great  deal  of  pride,  and  makes  truly  a  splendid  appearance  on  his 
black  horse.  He  owns  the  finest  horse  in  the  country,  and  is  excessively 
vain  of  his  appearance  when  mounted,  and  arrayed,  himself  and  horse,  in  all 
their  gear  and  trappings.  He  expressed  a  wish  to  see  himself  represented 
on  horseback,  and  I  painted  him  in  that  plight.  He  rode  and  nettled  his 
prancing  steed  in  front  of  my  door,  until  its  sides  were  in  a  gore  of  blood. 
I  succeeded  to  his  satisfaction,  and  his  vanity  is  increased,  no  doubt,  by 
seeing  himself  immortalized  in  that  way.  After  finishing  him,  I  painted  his 
favourite  wife  (the  favoured  one  of  seven),  his  favourite  boy,  and  eight  or 
ten  of  his  principal  men  and  women ;  after  which,  he  and  all  his  men  shook 
hands  with  me,  wishing  me  well,  and  leaving,  as  tokens  of  regard,  the  most 
valued  article  of  his  dress,  and  a  beautiful  string  of  wampum,  which  he  took 
from  his  wife's  neck. 

They  then  departed  for  their  village  in  good  spirits,  to  prepare  for  their 
fall  hunt. 

Of  this  interesting  interview  and  its  incidents,  and  of  these  people,  I  shall 
soon  give  the  reader  a  further  account,  and  therefore  close  my  note-book 
for  the  present.  Adieu. 


151 


LETTER— No.  53. 


SAINT  LOUIS. 

IT  will  be  seen  by  the  heading  of  this  Letter  that  I  am  back  again  to 
"  head-quarters,"  where  I  have  joined  my  wife,  and  being  seated  down  by  a 
comfortable  fire,  am  to  take  a  little  retrospect  of  my  rambles,  from  the  time 
of  my  last  epistle. 

The  return  to  the  society  of  old  friends  again,  has  been  delightful,  and 
amongst  those  whom  I  more  than  esteem,  I  have  met  my  kind  and  faithful 
friend  Joe  Chadwick,  whom  I  have  often  mentioned,  as  my  companion  in 
distress  whilst  on  that  disastrous  campaign  amongst  the  Camanchees.  Joe 
and  I  have  taken  great  pleasure  in  talking  over  the  many  curious  scenes  we 
have  passed  together,  many  of  which  are  as  yet  unknown  to  others  than 
ourselves.  We  had  been  separated  for  nearly  two  years,  and  during  that 
time  I  had  passed  many  curious  scenes  worthy  of  Joe's  knowing,  and  while 
he  sat  down  in  the  chair  for  a  portrait  I  painted  of  him  to  send  to  his  mother, 
on  leaving  the  States,  to  take  an  appointment  from  Governor  Houston  in  the 
Texan  army  ;  I  related  to  him  one  or  two  of  my  recent  incidents,  which 
were  as  follow,  and  pleased  Joe  exceedingly  : — 

"  After  I  had  paddled  my  bark  canoe  through  the  rapids,  with  my  wife 
and  others  in  it,  as  I  mentioned,  and  had  put  them  on  board  a  steamer 
for  St.  Louis,  I  dragged  my  canoe  up  the  east  shore  of  the  rapids,  with 
a  line,  for  a  distance  of  four  miles,  when  I  stopped  and  spent  half  of  the 
day  in  collecting  some  very  interesting  minerals,  which  I  had  in  the  bottom 
of  my  canoe,  and  ready  to  get  on  the  first  steamer  passing  up,  to  take  me 
again  to  Camp  Des  Moines,  at  the  head  of  the  rapids. 

"  I  was  sitting  on  a  wild  and  wooded  shore,  and  waiting,  when  I  at  length 
discovered  a  steamer  several  miles  below  me,  advancing  through  the  rapids, 
and  in  the  interim  I  set  too  and  cleaned  my  fowling-piece  and  a  noble  pair 
of  pistols,  which  I  had  carried  in  a  belt  at  my  side,  through  my  buffalo  and 
other  sports  of  the  West,  and  having  put  them  in  fine  order  and  deposited 
them  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe  before  me,  and  taken  my  paddle  in  hand, 
with  which  my  long  practice  had  given  me  unlimited  confidence,  I  put  off 
from  the  shore  to  the  middle  of  the  river,  which  was  there  a  mile  and  a  half 
in  width,  to  meet  the  steamer,  which  was  stemming  the  opposing  torrent, 
and  slowly  moving  up  the  rapids.  I  made  my  signal  as  I  neared  the  steamer, 
and  desired  my  old  friend  Captain  Rogers,  not  to  stop  his  engine ;  feeling 
full  confidence  that  I  could,  with  an  Indian  touch  of  the  paddle,  toss  my 
l:ttle  bark  around,  and  gently  grapple  to  the  side  of  the  steamer,  which  was 


152 

loaded  down,  with  her  gunnels  near  to  the  water's  edge.  Oh,  that  my  skill 
had  been  equal  to  my  imagination,  or  that  I  could  have  had  at  that  moment 
the  balance  and  the  skill  of  an  Indian  woman,  for  the  sake  of  my  little 
craft  and  what  was  in  it !  I  had  brought  it  about,  with  a  master  hand, 
however,  but  the  waves  of  the  rapids  and  the  foaming  of  the  waters  by  her 
sides  were  too  much  for  my  peaceable  adhesion,  and  at  the  moment  of 
wheeling,  to  part  company  with  her,  a  line,  with  a  sort  of  "  laso  throw,"  came 
from  an  awkward  hand  on  the  deck,  and  falling  over  my  shoulder  and 
around  the  end  of  my  canoe,  with  a  simultaneous  "  haul"  to  it,  sent  me  down 
head  foremost  to  the  bottom  of  the  river  ;  where  1  was  tumbling  along  with 
the  rapid  current  over  the  huge  rocks  on  the  bottom,  whilst  my  gun  and 
pistols,  which  were  emptied  from  my  capsised  boat,  were  taking  their  perma 
nent  position  amongst  the  rocks;  and  my  trunk,  containing  my  notes  of  travel 
for  several  years,  and  many  other  valuable  things,  was  floating  off  upon 
the  surface.  If  I  had  drowned,  my  death  would  have  been  witnessed  by  at 
least  an  hundred  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  were  looking  on,  but  I  did  not. 
— I  soon  took  a  peep,  by  the  side  of  my  trunk  &c.,  above  the  water,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  my  life  was  "  collared,"  and  that  by  my  friend  Captain 
Rogers,  who  undoubtedly  saved  me  from  making  further  explorations  on  the 
river  bottom,  by  pulling  me  into  the  boat,  to  the  amusement  of  all  on  deck, 
many  of  whom  were  my  old  acquaintance,  and  not  knowing  the  prelimina 
ries,  were  as  much  astounded  at  my  sudden  appearance,  as  if  I  had  been 
disgorged  from  a  whale's  belly.  A  small  boat  was  sent  off  for  my  trunk, 
which  was  picked  up  about  half  a  mile  below  and  brought  on  board  full  of 
water,  and  consequently,  clothes,  and  sketch-books  and  everything  else 
entirely  wet  through.  My  canoe  was  brought  on  board,  which  was  several 
degrees  dearer  to  me  now  than  it  had  been  for  its  long  and  faithful  service  ; 
but  my  gun  and  pistols  are  there  yet,  and  at  the  service  of  the  lucky  one 
who  may  find  them.  I  remained  on  board  for  several  miles,  till  we  were 
passing  a  wild  and  romantic  rocky  shore,  on  which  the  sun  was  shining  warm, 
and  I  launched  my  little  boat  into  the  water,  with  my  trunk  in  it  and 
put  off  to  the  shore,  where  I  soon  had  every  paper  and  a  hundred  other 
things  spread  in  the  sun,  and  at  night  in  good  order  for  my  camp,  which 
was  at  the  mouth  of  a  quiet  little  brook,  where  I  caught  some  fine  bass 
and  fared  well,  till  a  couple  of  hours  paddling  the  next  morning  brought 
me  back  to  Camp  Des  Moines." 

Here  my  friend  Joe  laughed  excessively,  but  said  not  a  word,  as  I  kept 
on  painting — and  told  him  also,  that  a  few  days  after  this,  I  put  my 
little  canoe  on  the  deck  of  a  steamer  ascending  the  river,  and  landed  at 
Rock  Island,  ninety  miles  above,  on  some  business  with  General  Street, 
the  Indian  Agent — after  which  I  "put  off"  in  my  little  bark,  descending 
the  river  alone,  to  Camp  Des  Moines,  with  a  fine  double-barrelled  fowling- 
piece,  which  I  had  purchased  at  the  garrison,  lying  in  the  canoe  before  me 
as  the  means  of  procuring  wild  fowl,  and  other  food  on  my  passage.  "  Egad !" 


153 

said  Joe,  "  how  I  should  like  to  have  been  with  you  !"     "  Sit  still,"  said  I, 
"  or  I  shall  lose  your  likeness."     So  Joe  kept  his  position,  and  I  proceeded: 

"  I  left  Rock  Island  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  at  half-past 
three  in  a  pleasant  afternoon,  in  the  cool  month  of  October,  run  my  canoe 
to  the  shore  of  Mas-co-tin  Island,  where  1  stepped  out  upon  its  beautiful 
pebbly  beach,  with  my  paddle  in  my  hand,  having  drawn  the  bow  of  my 
canoe,  as  usual,  on  to  the  beach,  so  as  to  hold  it  in  its  place.  This  beauti 
ful  island,  so  called  from  a  band  of  the  Illinois  Indians  of  that  name,  who 
once  dwelt  upon  it,  is  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  in  length,  without  habitation 
on  or  in  sight  of  it,  and  the  whole  way  one  extended  and  lovely  prairie  ; 
with  high  banks  fronting  the  river,  and  extending  back  a  great  way,  covered 
with  a  high  and  luxuriant  growth  of  grass.  To  the  top  of  this  bank  1  went 
with  my  paddle  in  my  hand,  quite  innocently,  just  to  range  my  eye  over  its 
surface,  and  to  see  what  might  be  seen ;  when,  in  a  minute  or  two,  I  turned 
towards  the  river,  and,  to  my  almost  annihilating  surprise  and  vexation,  I 
saw  my  little  canoe  some  twenty  or  thirty  rods  from  the  shore,  and  some 
distance  below  me,  with  its  head  aiming  across  the  river,  and  steadily  gliding 
along  in  that  direction,  where  the  wind  was  roguishly  wafting  it !  What 
little  swearing  I  had  learned  in  the  whole  of  my  dealings  with  the  civilized 
world,  seemed  then  to  concentrate  in  two  or  three  involuntary  exclamations, 
which  exploded  as  I  was  running  down  the  beach,  and  throwing  off  my 
garments  one  after  the  other,  till  I  was  denuded — and  dashing  through  the 
deep  and  boiling  current  in  pursuit  of  it,  I  swam  some  thirty  rods  in  a 
desperate  rage,  resolving  that  this  must  be  my  remedy,  as  there  was  no  other 
mode ;  but  at  last  found,  to  my  great  mortification  and  alarm.,  that  the 
canoe,  having  got  so  far  from  the  shore,  was  more  in  the  wind,  and  travelling 
at  a  speed  quite  equal  to  my  own ;  so  that  the  only  safe  alternative  was  to 
turn  and  make  for  the  shore  with  all  possible  despatch.  This  I  did — and 
had  but  just  strength  to  bring  me  where  my  feet  could  reach  the  bottom, 
and  I  waded  out  with  the  appalling  conviction,  that  if  I  had  swam  one  rod 
farther  into  the  stream,  my  strength  would  never  have  brought  me  to  the  shore  ; 
for  it  was  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  the  water  so  cold  as  completely  to  have 
benumbed  me,  and  paralyzed  my  limbs.  I  hastened  to  pick  up  my  clothes, 
which  were  dropped  at  intervals  as  I  had  run  on  the  beach,  and  having 
adjusted  them  on  my  skivering  limbs,  I  stepped  to  the  top  of  the  bank,  and 
took  a  deliberate  view  of  my  little  canoe,  which  was  steadily  making  its  way 
to  the  other  shore — with  my  gun,  with  my  provisions  and  tire  apparatus, 
and  sleeping  apparel,  all  snugly  packed  in  it. 

"  The  river  at  that  place  is  near  a  mile  wide  ;  and  I  watched  the  mis 
chievous  thing  till  it  ran  quite  into  a  bunch  of  willows  on  the  opposite  shore 
and  out  of  sight.  I  walked  the  shore  awhile,  alone  and  solitary  as  a 
Zealand  penguin,  when  I  at  last  sat  down,  and  in  one  minute  passed  the 
following  resolves  from  premises  that  were  before  me,  and  too  imperative  to 
be  evaded  or  unappreciated.  '  I  am  here  on  a  desolate  island,  with  no- 

VOL.    II.  v 


154 

thing  to  eat,  and  destitute  of  the  means  of  procuring  anything  ;  and  if  I  pass 
the  night,  or  half  a  dozen  of  them  here,  I  shall  have  neither  fire  or  clothes  to 
make  me  comfortable ;  and  nothing  short  of  having  my  canoe  will  answer 
me  at  all.'  For  this,  the  only  alternative  struck  me,  and  I  soon  commen 
ced  upon  it.  An  occasional  log  or  limb  of  drift  wood  was  seen  along  the 
beach  and  under  the  bank,  and  these  I  commenced  bringing  together  from 
all  quarters,  and  some  I  had  to  lug  half  a  mile  or  more,  to  form  a  raft  to 
float  me  up  and  carry  me  across  the  river.  As  there  was  a  great  scarcity 
of  materials,  and  I  had  no  hatchet  to  cut  anything;  I  had  to  use  my  scanty 
materials  of  all  lengths  and  of  all  sizes  and  all  shapes,  and  at  length  ven 
tured  upon  the  motley  mass,  with  paddle  in  hand,  and  carefully  shoved 
it  off  from  the  shore,  finding  it  just  sufficient  to  float  me  up.  I  took  a 
seat  in  its  centre  on  a  bunch  of  barks  which  I  had  placed  for  a  seat,  and 
which,  when  I  started,  kept  me  a  few  inches  above  the  water,  and  conse 
quently  dry,  whilst  my  feet  were  resting  on  the  raft,  which  in  most  parts  was 
sunk  a  little  below  the  surface.  The  only  alternative  was  to  go,  for  there 
was  no  more  timber  to  be  found  ;  so  I  balanced  myself  in  the  middle,  and 
by  reaching  forward  with  my  paddle,  to  a  little  space  between  the  timbers  of 
my  raft,  I  had  a  small  place  to  dip  it,  and  the  only  one,  in  which  I  could 
make  but  a  feeble  stroke — propelling  me  at  a  very  slow  rate  across,  as  I 
was  floating  rapidly  down  the  current.  I  sat  still  and  worked  patiently, 
however,  content  with  the  little  gain ;  and  at  last  reached  the  opposite 
shore  about  three  miles  below  the  place  of  my  embarkation  ;  having  passed 
close  by  several  huge  snags,  which  I  was  lucky  enough  to  escape,  without 
the  power  of  having  cleared  them  except  by  kind  accident. 

"  My  craft  was  '  unseaworthy'  when  I  started,  and  when  I  had  got  to  the 
middle  of  the  river,  owing  to  the  rotten  wood,  with  which  a  great  part  of  it 
was  made,  and  which  had  now  become  saturated  with  water,  it  had  sunk 
entirely  under  the  surface,  letting  me  down  nearly  to  the  waist,  in  the  water. 
In  this  critical  way  I  moved  slowly  along,  keeping  the  sticks  together  under 
me  ;  and  at  last,  when  I  reached  the  shore,  some  of  the  long  and  awkward 
limbs  projecting  from  my  raft,  having  reached  it  before  me,  and  being  sud 
denly  resisted  by  the  bank,  gave  the  instant  signal  for  its  dissolution,  and 
my  sudden  debarkation,  when  I  gave  one  grand  leap  in  the  direction  of  the 
bank,  yet  some  yards  short  of  it,  and  into  the  water,  from  head  to  foot ;  but 
soon  crawled  out,  and  wended  my  way  a  mile  or  two  up  the  shore,  where  I 
found  my  canoe  snugly  and  safely  moored  in  the  willows,  where  I  stepped 
into  it,  and  paddled  back  to  the  island,  and  to  the  same  spot  where  my  mis 
fortunes  commenced,  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  exultations,  which  were  to 
flow  from  contrasting  my  present  with  my  former  situation. 

"Thus,  the  Island  of  Mas-co-tin  soon  lost  its  horrors,  and  I  strolled  two 
days  and  encamped  two  nights  upon  its  silent  shores — with  prairie  hens  and 
wild  fowl  in  abundance  for  my  meals.  From  this  lovely  ground,  which 
shews  the  peaceful  graves  of  hundreds  of  red  men,  who  have  valued  it  before 


me,  I  paddled  off  in  my  light  bark,  and  said,  as  I  looked  back,  '  Sleep 
there  in  peace,  ye  brave  fellows  !  until  the  sacrilegious  hands  of  white  man, 
and  the  unsympathizing  ploughshare  shall  turn  thy  bones  from  their  quiet 
and  beautiful  resting-place  ! ' 

"  Two  or  three  days  of  strolling,  brought  me  again  to  the  Camp  Des  Moines, 
and  from  thence,  with  my  favourite  little  bark  canoe,  placed  upon  the  deck  of 
the  steamer,  I  embarked  for  St.  Louis,  where  I  arrived  in  good  order, and  soon 
found  the  way  to  the  comfortable  quarters  from  whence  I  am  now  writing.  " 

When  I  finished  telling  this  story  to  Joe,  his  portrait  was  done,  and  I 
rejoiced  to  find  that  I  had  given  to  it  all  the  fire  and  all  the  game  look  that 
had  become  so  familiar  and  pleasing  to  me  in  our  numerous  rambles  in  the 
far  distant  wilds  of  our  former  campaigns.* 

When  I  had  landed  from  the  steamer  Warrior,  at  the  wharf,  I  left  all  other 
considerations  to  hasten  and  report  myself  to  my  dear  wife,  leaving  my  little 
canoe  on  deck  and  in  the  especial  charge  of  the  Captain,  till  I  should  return 
for  it  in  the  afternoon,  and  remove  it  to  safe  storage  with  my  other  Indian 
articles,  to  form  an  interesting  part  of  my  Museum.  On  my  return  to  the 
steamer  it  was  "  missing"  and  like  one  that  I  have  named  on  a  former  occa 
sion,  by  some  medicine  operation,  for  ever  severed  from  my  sight,  though 
not  from  my  recollections,  where  it  will  long  remain,  and  also  in  a  likeness 
which  I  made  of  it  (PLATE  240,  a),  just  after  the  trick  it  played  me  on  the 
shore  of  the  Mascotin  Island. 

After  I  had  finished  the  likeness  of  my  friend  Joe,  and  had  told  him  the 
two  stories,  I  sat  down  and  wrote  thus  in  my  note-book,  and  uow  copy  it 
into  my  Letter: — 

The  West — not  the  "  Far  West,"  for  that  is  a  phantom,  travelling  on  its 
tireless  wing  :  but  the  West,  the  simple  West — the  vast  and  vacant  wilds 
which  lie  between  the  trodden  haunts  of  present  savage  and  civil  life — the 
great  and  almost  boundless  garden-spot  of  earth  !  This  is  the  theme  at 
present.  The  "  antres  vast  and  deserts  idle,"  where  the  tomahawk  sleeps  with 
the  bones  of  the  savage,  as  yet  untouched  by  the  trespassing  ploughshare — 
the  pictured  land  of  silence,  which,  in  its  melancholy  alternately  echoes 
backward  and  forward  the  plaintive  yells  of  the  vanished  red  men,  and  the 
busy  chaunts  of  the  approaching  pioneers.  I  speak  of  the  boundless  plains 
of  beauty,  and  Nature's  richest  livery,  where  the  waters  of  the  "  great  deep" 
parted  in  peace,  and  gracefully  passed  off  without  leaving  deformity  behind 
them.  Over  whose  green,  enamelled  fields,  as  boundless  and  free  as  the 
ocean's  wave,  Nature's  proudest,  noblest  men  have  pranced  on  their  wild 
horses,  and  extended,  through  a  series  of  ages,  their  long  arms  in  orisons  of 
praise  and  gratitude  to  the  Great  Spirit  in  the  sun,  for  the  freedom  and 

*  Poor  Chadwick !  a  few  days  after  the  above  occasion,  he  sent  his  portrait  to  his  mother, 
and  started  for  Texas,  where  he  joined  the  Texan  army,  with  a  commission  from  Governor 
Houston  ;  was  taken  prisoner  in  the  first  battle  that  he  fought,  and  was  amongst  the  four 
hundred  prisoners  who  were  shot  down  in  cold  blood  by  the  order  of  Santa  Anna. 

x  2 


156 

happiness  of  their  existence. — The  land  that  was  beautiful  and  famed,  but 
had  no  chronicler  to  tell — where,  while  "  civilized"  was  yet  in  embryo,  dwelt 
the  valiant  and  the  brave,  whose  deeds  of  chivalry  and  honour  have  passed 
away  like  themselves,  unembalmed  and  untold — where  the  plumed  war- 
horse  has  pranced  in  time  with  the  shrill  sounding  war-cry,  and  the  eagle 
calumet  as  oft  sent  solemn  and  mutual  pledges  in  fumes  to  the  skies.  I 
speak  of  the  neutral  ground  (for  such  it  may  be  called),  where  the  smoke 
of  the  wigwam  is  no  longer  seen,  but  the  bleaching  bones  of  the  buffaloes, 
and  the  graves  of  the  savage,  tell  the  story  of  times  and  days  that  are  passed 
— the  land  of  stillness,  on  which  the  red  man  now  occasionally  re-treads  in 
sullen  contemplation,  amid  the  graves  of  his  fathers,  and  over  which  civilized 
man  advances,  filled  with  joy  and  gladness. 

Such  is  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  over  almost  every 
part  of  which  I  have  extended  my  travels,  and  of  which  and  of  its  future 
wealth  and  improvements,  I  have  had  sublime  contemplations. 

I  have  viewed  man  in  the  artless  and  innocent  simplicity  of  nature,  in  the 
full  enjoyment  of  the  luxuries  which  God  had  bestowed  upon  him.  I  have 
seen  him  happier  than  kings  or  princes  can  be  ;  with  his  pipe  and  little  ones 
about  him.  I  have  seen  him  shrinking  from  civilized  approach,  which  came 
with  all  its  vices,  like  the  dead  of  night,  upon  him  :  I  have  seen  raised,  too, 
in  that  darkness,  religion's  torch,  and  seen  him  gaze  and  then  retreat  like 
the  frightened  deer,  that  are  blinded  by  the  light ;  I  have  seen  him  shrink 
ing  from  the  soil  and  haunts  of  his  boyhood,  bursting  the  strongest  ties  which 
bound  him  to  the  earth,  and  its  pleasures  ;  1  have  seen  him  set  fire  to  his 
wigwam,  and  smooth  over  the  graves  of  his  fathers  ;  I  have  seen  him  ('tis  the 
only  thing  that  will  bring  them)  with  tears  of  grief  sliding  over  his  cheeks, 
clap  his  hand  in  silence  over  his  mouth,  and  take  the  last  look  over  his  fair 
hunting  grounds,  and  turn  his  face  in  sadness  to  the  setting  sun.  All  this  I 
have  seen  performed  in  Nature's  silent  dignity  and  grace,  which  forsook  him 
not  in  the  last  extremity  of  misfortune  and  despair ;  and  I  have  seen  as  often, 
the  approach  of  the  bustling,  busy,  talking,  whistling,  hopping,  elated  and 
exulting  white  man,  with  the  first  dip  of  the  ploughshare,  making  sacrilegious 
trespass  on  the  bones  of  the  valiant  dead.  I  have  seen  the  skull,  the  pipe, 
and  the  tomahawk  rise  from  the  ground  together,  in  interrogations  which  the 
sophistry  of  the  world  can  never  answer.  I  have  seen  thus,  in  all  its  forms 
and  features,  the  grand  and  irresistible  march  of  civilization.  I  have  seen 
this  splendid  Juggernaut  rolling  on,  and  beheld  its  sweeping  desolation  ;  and 
held  converse  with  the  happy  thousands,  living,  as  yet,  beyond  its  influence, 
who  have  not  been  crushed,  nor  yet  have  dreamed  of  its  approach. 

I  have  stood  amidst  these  unsophisticated  people,  and  contemplated  with 
feelings  of  deepest  regret,  the  certain  approach  of  this  overwhelming  system, 
which  will  inevitably  march  on  and  prosper,  until  reluctant  tears  shall  have 
watered  every  rod  of  this  fair  land  ;  and  from  the  towering  cliffs  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  the  luckless  savage  will  turn  back  his  swollen  eye,  over  the  blue 


157 

and  illimitable  hunting  grounds  from  whence  he  has  fled,  and  there  contem 
plate,  like  Caius  Marius  on  the  ruins  of  Carthage,  their  splendid  desolation. 

Such  is  the  vast  expanse  of  country  from  which  Nature's  men  are  at  this 
time  rapidly  vanishing,  giving  way  to  the  modern  crusade  which  is  following 
the  thousand  allurements,  and  stocking  with  myriads,  this  world  of  green 
fields.  This  splendid  area,  denominated  the  "  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,"  em 
braced  between  the  immutable  barriers  on  either  side,  the  Alleghany  and  Rocky 
Mountains  ;  with  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  South,  and  the  great  string  of 
lakes  on  the  North,  and  the  mighty  Mississippi  rolling  its  turbid  waters 
through  it,  for  the  distance  of  four  thousand  miles,  receiving  its  hundred 
tributaries,  whose  banks  and  plateaus  are  capable  of  supporting  a  population 
of  one  hundred  millions,  covered  almost  entirely  with  the  richest  soil  in  the 
world,  with  lead,  iron,  and  coal,  sufficient  for  its  population — with  twelve 
thousand  miles  of  river  navigation  for  steamers,  within  its  embrace,  besides 
the  coast  on  the  South,  and  the  great  expanse  of  lakes  on  the  North — with 
a  population  of  five  millions,  already  sprinkled  over  its  nether  half,  and  a 
greater  part  of  the  remainder  of  it,  inviting  the  world  to  its  possession,  for  one 
dollar  and  25  cents  (five  shillings)  per  acre  ! 

I  ask,  who  can  contemplate,  without  amazement,  this  mighty  river  alone, 
eternally  rolling  its  boiling  waters  through  the  richest  of  soil,  for  the  distance 
of  four  thousand  miles  ;  over  three  thousand  five  hundred  of  which,  I  have 
myself  been  wafted  on  mighty  steamers,  ensconced  within  "  curtains  dam 
asked,  and  carpets  ingrain  ;"  and  on  its  upper  half,  gazed  with  tireless  ad 
miration  upon  its  thousand  hills  and  mounds  of  grass  and  green,  sloping 
down  to  the  water's  edge,  in  all  the  grace  and  beauty  of  Nature's  loveliest 
fabrication.  On  its  lower  half,  also,  whose  rich  alluvial  shores  are  studded 
with  stately  cotton  wood  and  elms,  which  echo  back  the  deep  and  hollow 
cough  of  the  puffing  steamers.  I  have  contemplated  the  bed  of  this  vast 
river,  sinking  from  its  natural  surface  ;  and  the  alligator  driven  to  its  bosom, 
abandoning  his  native  bog  and  fen,  which  are  drying  and  growing  into  beauty 
and  loveliness  under  the  hand  of  the  husbandman. 

I  have  contemplated  these  boundless  forests  melting  away  before  the  fatal 
axe,  until  the  expanded  waters  of  this  vast  channel,  and  its  countless  tribu 
taries,  will  yield  their  surplus  to  the  thirsty  sunbeam,  to  which  their  shorn 
banks  will  expose  them ;  and  I  have  contemplated,  also,  the  never-ending 
transit  of  steamers,  ploughing  up  the  sand  and  deposit  from  its  bottom, 
which  its  turbid  waters  are  eternally  hurrying  on  to  the  ocean,  sinking  its 
channel,  and  thereby  raising  its  surrounding  alluvions  for  the  temptations 
and  enjoyment  of  man. 

All  this  is  certain.  Man's  increase,  and  the  march  of  human  improve 
ments  in  this  New  World,  are  as  true  and  irresistible  as  the  laws  of  nature, 
and  he  who  could  rise  from  his  grave  and  speak,  or  would  speak  from  the 
life  some  half  century  from  this,  would  proclaim  my  prophecy  true  and  ful 
filled.  I  said  above,  (and  I  again  say  it,)  that  these  are  subjects  for  "  sublime 


158 

contemplation  !"  At  all  events  they  are  so  to  the  traveller,  who  has  wandered 
over  and  seen  this  vast  subject  in  all  its  parts,  and  able  to  appreciate— who 
has  seen  the  frightened  herds,  as  well  as  multitudes  of  human,  giving  way 
and  shrinking  from  the  mountain  wave  of  civilization,  which  is  busily  rolling 
on  behind  them. 

From  Maine  to  Florida  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  the  forefathers  of  those 
hardy  sons  who  are  now  stocking  this  fair  land,  have,  from  necessity,  in  a 
hard  and  stubborn  soil,  inured  their  hands  to  labour,  and  their  habits  and 
taste  of  life  to  sobriety  and  economy,  which  will  ensure  them  success  in  the 
new  world. 

This  rich  country  which  is  now  alluring  the  enterprising  young  men  from 
the  East,  being  commensurate  with  the  whole  Atlantic  States,  holds  out  the 
extraordinary  inducement  that  every  emigrant  can  enjoy  a  richer  soil,  and 
that  too  in  his  own  native  latitude.  The  sugar  planter,  the  rice,  cotton,  and 
tobacco  growers — corn,  rye,  and  wheat  producers,  from  Louisiana  to  Mon 
treal,  have  only  to  turn  their  faces  to  the  West,  and  there  are  waiting  for 
them  the  same  atmosphere  to  breathe,  and  green  fields  already  cleared,  and 
ready  for  the  plough,  too  tempting  to  be  overlooked  or  neglected. 

As  far  west  as  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  the  great  wave  of  emigration 
has  rolled  on,  and  already  in  its  rear  the  valley  is  sprinkled  with  towns  und 
cities,  with  their  thousand  spires  pointing  to  the  skies.  For  several  hundred 
miles  West,  also,  have  the  daring  pioneers  ventured  their  lives  and  fortunes, 
with  their  families,  testing  the  means  and  luxuries  of  life,  which  Nature  has 
spread  before  them ;  in  the  country  where  the  buried  tomahawk  is  scarce 
rusted,  and  the  war-cry  has  scarcely  died  on  the  winds.  Among  these 
people  have  I  roamed.  On  the  Red  River  I  have  seen  the  rich  Louisianian 
chequering  out  his  cotton  and  sugar  plantations,  where  the  sunbeam  could 
be  seen  reflected  from  the  glistening  pates  of  his  hundred  negroes,  making 
first  trespass  with  the  hoe.  1  have  sat  with  him  at  his  hospitable  table  in  his 
log  cabin,  sipping  sherry  and  champaigne.  He  talks  of  "  hogsheads  and 
price  of  stocks,"  or  "  goes  in  for  cotton." 

In  the  western  parts  of  Arkansas  and  Missouri,  I  have  shared  the  genuine 
cottage  hospitality  of  the  abrupt,  yet  polite  and  honourable  Kentuckian  ;  the 
easy,  affable  and  sociable  Tennesseean  ;  this  has  "  a  smart  chance  of  corn  ;" 
the  other,  perhaps,  "  a  power  of  cotton  ;"  and  then,  occasionally,  (from  the 
"  Old  Dominion,")  "  I  reckon  I  shall  have  a  mighty  heap  of  tobacco  this 
season,"  &c. 

Boys  in  this  country  are  "peart,"  fever  and  ague  renders  one  "powerful 
weak,"  and  sometimes  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  "  shet"  of  it.  Intelli 
gence,  hospitality,  and  good  cheer  reign  under  all  of  these  humble  roofs,  and 
the  traveller  who  knows  how  to  appreciate  those  things,  with  a  good  cup  of 
coft'ee,  "  corn*  bread,"  and  fresh  butter,  can  easily  enjoy  moments  of  bliss  in 
converse  with  the  humble  pioneer. 

On  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  for  the  distance  of  seven  or  eight 

*  Maize. 


159 

hundred  miles  above  St.  Louis,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  champaigne 
countries  in  the  world,  continually  alternating  into  timber  and  fields  of  the 
softest  green,  calculated,  from  its  latitude,  for  the  people  of  the  northern  and 
eastern  states,  and  "  Jonathan"  is  already  here — and  almost  every  body  else 
from  "down  East" — with  fences  of  white,  drawn  and  drawing,  like  chalk 
lines,  over  the  green  prairie.  "  By  gosh,  this  ere  is  the  biggest  clearin  I 
ever  see."  "  I  expect  we  had'nt  ought  to  raise  nothin  but  wheat  and  rye 
here." — "  1  guess  you've  come  arter  land,  ha'nt  you  ?" 

Such  is  the  character  of  this  vast  country,  and  such  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  filled  up,  with  people  from  all  parts,  tracing  their  own  latitudes,  and 
carrying  with  them  their  local  peculiarities  and  prejudices.  The  mighty 
Mississippi,  however,  the  great  and  everlasting  highway  on  which  these 
people  are  for  ever  to  intermingle  their  interests  and  manners,  will  effectually 
soften  down  those  prejudices,  and  eventually  result  in  an  amalgamation  of 
feelings  and  customs,  from  which  this  huge  mass  of  population  will  take  one 
new  and  general  appellation. 

It  is  here  that  the  true  character  of  the  American  is  to  be  formed — here 
where  the  peculiarities  and  incongruities  which  detract  from  his  true  character 
are  surrendered  for  the  free,  yet  lofty  principle  that  strikes  between  meanness 
and  prodigality — between  literal  democracy  and  aristocracy — between  low 
cunning  and  self-engendered  ingenuousness.  Such  will  be  found  to  be  the 
true  character  of  the  Americans  when  jostled  awhile  together,  until  their  local 
angles  are  worn  off;  and  such  may  be  found  and  already  pretty  well  formed, 
in  the  genuine  Kentuckian,  the  first  brave  and  daring  pioneer  of  the  great 
West ;  he  is  the  true  model  of  an  American — the  nucleus  around  which  the 
character  must  form,  and  from  which  it  is  to  emanate  to  the  world.  This  is 
the  man  who  first  relinquished  the  foibles  and  fashions  of  Eastern  life,  trail 
ing  his  rifle  into  the  forest  of  the  Mississippi,  taking  simple  Nature  for  his 
guide.  From  necessity  (as  well  as  by  nature),  bold  and  intrepid,  with  the 
fixed  and  unfaltering  brow  of  integrity,  and  a  hand  whose  very  grip  (without 
words)  tells  you  welcome. 

And  yet,  many  people  of  the  East  object  to  the  Mississippi,  "  that  it  is 
too  far  off — is  out  of  the  world."  But  how  strange  and  insufficient  is  such 
an  objection  to  the  traveller  who  has  seen  and  enjoyed  its  hospitality,  and 
reluctantly  retreats  from  it  with  feelings  of  regret ;  pronouncing  it  a  "  world 
of  itself,  equal  in  luxuries  and  amusements  to  any  other."  How  weak  is 
such  an  objection  to  him  who  has  ascended  the  Upper  Mississippi  to  the  Fall 
of  St.  Anthony,  traversed  the  States  of  Missouri,  Illinois,  and  Michigan,  and 
territory  of  Ouisconsin ;  over  all  of  which  nature  has  spread  her  green  fields, 
smiling  and  tempting  man  to  ornament  with  painted  house  and  fence,  with 
prancing  steed  and  tasseled  carriage — with  countless  villages,  silvered  spires 
and  domes,  denoting  march  of  intellect,  and  wealth's  refinement.  The  sun 
is  sure  to  look  upon  these  scenes,  and  we,  perhaps,  "  may  hear  the  tinkling 
fro  in  our  graves."  Adieu. 


160 


LETTER-No.  54. 


RED  PIPE  STONE  QUARRY,  COTEAU  DES  PRAIRIES. 

THE  reader  who  would  follow  me  from  the  place  where  my  last  epistle 
was  written,  to  where  I  now  am,  must  needs  start,  as  I  did,  from  St.  Louis, 
and  cross  the  Alleghanny  mountains,  to  my  own  native  state ;  where  I  left 
my  wife  with  my  parents,  and  wended  my  way  to  Buffalo,  on  Lake  Erie, 
where  I  deposited  my  Collection  ;  and  from  thence  trace,  as  I  did,  the  zig 
zag  course  of  the  Lakes,  from  Buffalo  to  Detroit — to  the  Sault  de  St.  Marys 
— to  Mackinaw — to  Green  Bay,  and  thence  the  tortuous  windings  of  the 
Fox  and  Ouisconsin  Rivers,  to  Prairie  du  Chien  ;  and  then  the  mighty  Mis 
sissippi  (for  the  second  time),  to  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony — then  the  sluggish, 
yet  decorated  and  beautiful  St.  Peters,  towards  its  source  ;  and  thence  again 
(on  horseback)  the  gradually  and  gracefully  rising  terraces  of  the  shorn,  yet 
green  and  carpeted  plains,  denominated  the  "  Coteau  des  Prairies"  (being 
the  high  and  dividing  ridge  between  the  St.  Peters  and  the  Missouri  Rivers), 
where  I  am  bivouacked,  at  the  "  Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry."  The  distance 
of  such  a  Tour  would  take  the  reader  4,000  miles ;  but  I  save  him  the 
trouble  by  bringing  him,  in  a  moment,  on  the  spot. 

This  journey  has  afforded  me  the  opportunity  of  seeing,  on  my  way,  Mac 
kinaw — the  Sault  de  St.  Marys,  and  Green  Bay  —points  which  I  had  not 
before  visited ;  and  also  of  seeing  many  distinguished  Indians  among  the 
Chippeways,  Menomonies  and  Winnebagoes,  whom  I  had  not  before  painted 
or  seen. 

I  can  put  the  people  of  the  East  at  rest,  as  to  the  hostile  aspect  of  this 
part  of  the  country,  as  I  have  just  passed  through  the  midst  of  these  tribes, 
as  well  as  of  the  Sioux,  in  whose  country  I  now  am,  and  can,  without  con 
tradiction,  assert,  that,  as  far  as  can  be  known,  they  are  generally  well-dis 
posed,  and  have  been  so,  towards  the  whites. 

There  have  been  two  companies  of  United  States  dragoons,  ordered  and 
marched  to  Green  Bay,  where  I  saw  them ;  and  three  companies  of  infantry 
from  Prairie  du  Chien  to  Fort  Winnebago,  in  anticipation  of  difficulties ; 
but  in  all  probability,  without  any  real  cause  or  necessity,  for  the  Winnebago 
chief  answered  the  officer,  who  asked  him  if  they  wanted  to  fight,  "  that 
they  could  not,  had  they  been  so  disposed ;  for,"  said  he,  "  we  have  no 
guns,  no  ammunition,  nor  anything  to  eat ;  and,  what  is  worst  of  all,  one  half 


JS^..- 


.2^ 


264 


. 

i  i  .  .>£»< 


G.Catliti. 


265 


161 

of  our  men  are  dying  with  the  small-pox.  If  you  will  give  us  guns  and 
ammunition,  and  pork,  and  flour,  and  feed  and  take  care  of  our  squaws 
and  children,  we  will  fight  you  ;  nevertheless,  we  will  try  to  fight  if  you 
want  us  to,  as  it  is." 

There  is,  to  appearance  (and  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  it),  the  most 
humble  poverty  and  absolute  necessity  for  peace  among  these  people  at 
present,  that  can  possibly  be  imagined.  And,  amidst  their  poverty  and 
wretchedness,  the  only  war  that  suggests  itself  to  the  eye  of  the  traveller 
through  their  country,  is  the  war  of  sympathy  and  pity,  which  wages  in  the 
breast  of  a  feeling,  thinking  man. 

The  small-pox,  whose  ravages  have  now  pretty  nearly  subsided,  has  taken 
off  a  great  many  of  the  Winnebagoes  and  Sioux.  The  famous  Wa-be-sha, 
of  the  Sioux,  and  more  than  half  of  his  band,  have  fallen  victims  to  it  within 
a  few  weeks,  and  the  remainder  of  them,  blackened  with  its  frightful  distor 
tions,  look  as  if  they  had  just  emerged  from  the  sulphurous  regions  below. 
At  Prairie  du  Chien,  a  considerable  number  of  the  half-breeds,  and  Ffench 
also,  suffered  death  by  this  baneful  disease  ;  and  at  that  place  I  learned  one 
fact,  which  may  be  of  service  to  science,  which  was  this :  that  in  all  cases 
of  vaccination,  which  had  been  given  several  years  ago,  it  was  an  efficient 
protection  ;  but  in  those  cases  where  the  vaccine  had  been  recent  (and  there 
were  many  of  them),  it  had  not  the  effect  to  protect,  and  in  almost  every 
instance  of  such,  death  ensued. 

At  the  Sault  de  St.  Marys  on  Lake  Superior,  I  saw  a  considerable  num 
ber  of  Chippeways,  living  entirely  on  fish,  which  they  catch  with  great  ease 
at  that  place. 

1  need  not  detain  the  reader  a  moment  with  a  description  of  St.  Marys, 
or  of  the  inimitable  summer's  paradise,  which  can  always  be  seen  at  Mac 
kinaw  ;  and  which,  like  the  other,  has  been  an  hundred  times  described. 
I  shall  probably  have  the  chance  of  seeing  about  3,000  Chippeways  at  the 
latter  place  on  my  return  home,  who  are  to  receive  their  annuities  at  that 
time  through  the  hands  of  Mr.  Schoolcratt,  their  agent. 

In  PLATE  264,  I  have  given  a  distant  view  of  Mackinaw,  as  seen  ap 
proaching  it  from  the  East ;  and  in  PLATE  265,  a  view  of  the  Sault  de  St. 
Marys,  taken  from  the  Canada  shore,  near  the  missionary-house,  which  is 
seen  in  the  fore-ground  of  the  picture,  and  in  distance,  the  United  States 
Garrison,  and  the  Rapids  ;  and  beyond  them  the  Capes  at  the  outlet  of  Lake 
Superior. 

I  mentioned  that  the  Chippeways  living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Sault,  live 
entirely  on  fish;  and  it  is  almost  literally  true  also,  that  the  French  and 
English,  and  Americans,  who  reside  about  there  live  on  fish,  which  are 
caught  in  the  greatest  abundance  in  the  rapids  at  that  place,  and  are,  per 
haps,  one  of  the  greatest  luxuries  of  the  world.  The  white  fish,  which  is  in 
appearance  much  like  a  salmon,  though  smaller,  is  the  luxury  I  am  speaking 
of,  and  is  caught  in  immense  quantities  by  the  scoop-nets  of  the  Indians  and 

VOL.  n.  Y 


162 

Frenchmen,  amongst  the  foaming  and  dashing  water  of  the  rapids  (PLATE 
266),  where  it  gains  strength  and  flavour  not  to  be  found  in  the  same  fish 
in  any  other  place.  This  unequalled  fishery  has  long  been  one  of  vast  im 
portance  to  the  immense  numbers  of  Indians,  who  have  always  assembled 
about  it ;  but  of  late,  has  been  found  by  money-making  men,  to  be  too  valu 
able  a  spot  for  the  exclusive  occupancy  of  the  savage,  like  hundreds  of 
others,  and  has  at  last  been  filled  up  with  adventurers,  who  have  dipped 
their  nets  till  the  poor  Indian  is  styled  an  intruder ;  and  his  timid  bark  is 
seen  dodging  about  in  the  coves  for  a  scanty  subsistence,  whilst  he  scans 
and  envies  insatiable  white  man  filling  his  barrels  and  boats,  and  sending 
them  to  market  to  be  converted  into  money. 

In  PLATE  267  is  seen  one  of  their  favourite  amusements  at  this  place, 
which  I  was  lucky  enough  to  witness  a  few  miles  below  the  Sault,  when 
high  bettings  had  been  made,  and  a  great  concourse  of  Indians  had  assem 
bled  to  witness  an  Indian  regatta  or  canoe  race,  which  went  off  with  great 
excitement,  firing  of  guns,  yelping,  &c.  The  Indians  in  this  vicinity  are  all 
Chippeways,  and  their  canoes  all  made  of  birch  bark,  and  chiefly  of  one 
model ;  they  are  exceedingly  light,  as  I  have  before  described,  and  propelled 
with  wonderful  velocity. 

Whilst  I  stopped  at  the  Sault,  I  made  excursions  on  Lake  Superior,  and 
through  other  parts  of  the  country,  both  on  the  Canada  and  United  States 
sides,  and  painted  a  number  of  Chippeways  ;  amongst  whom  were  On-daig 
(the  crow,  PLATE  268),  a  young  man  of  distinction,  in  an  extravagant  and 
beautiful  costume ;  and  Gitch-ee-gaw-ga-osh  (the  point  that  remains  for 
ever),  an  old  and  respected  chief.*  And  besides  these,  Gaw-zaw-que-dung 
(he  who  halloos)  ;  Kay-ee-qua-da-kum-ee-gish-kum  (he  who  tries  the  ground 
with  his  foot) ;  and  I-an-be-wa-dick  (the  male  carabou). 

From  Mackinaw  I  proceeded  to  Green  Bay,  which  is  a  flourishing  begin 
ning  of  a  town,  in  the  heart  of  a  rich  country,  and  the  head-quarters  of 
land  speculators. 

From  thence,  I  embarked  in  alarge  bark  canoe,  with  five  French  voyageurs  at 
the  oars,  where  happened  to  be  grouped  and  messed  together,  five  "jolly  com 
panions"  of  us,  bound  for  Fort  Winnebago  and  the  Mississippi.  All  our  stores 
and  culinary  articles  were  catered  for  by,  and  bill  rendered  to,  mine  host, 
Mr.  C.  Jennings  (quondam  of  the  city  hotel  in  New  York),  who  was  one  of 
our  party,  and  whom  we  soon  elected  "  Major"  of  the  expedition  ;  and  shortly 
after,  promoted  to  "  Colonel" — from  the  philosophical  dignity  and  patience 
with  which  he  met  the  difficulties  and  exposure  which  we  had  to  encounter, 
as  well  as  for  his  extraordinary  skill  and  taste  displayed  in  the  culinary  art. 
Mr.  Irving,  a  relative  of  W.  Irving,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Robert  Serril  Wood,  an 
Englishman  (both  travellers  of  European  realms,  with  fund  inexhaustible 

*  This  very  distinguished  old  chief,  I  have  learned,  died  a  few  weeks  after  I  painted 
his  portrait. 


Hte 


-'GO 


• 


207 


163 

for  amusement  and  entertainment) ;  Lieutenant  Reed,  of  the  army,  and  my 
self,  forming  the  rest  of  the  party.  The  many  amusing  little  incidents  which 
enlivened  our  transit  up  the  sinuous  windings  of  the  Fox  river,  amid  its  rapids, 
its  banks  of  loveliest  prairies  and  "  oak  openings,"  and  its  boundless  shores 
of  wild  rice,  with  the  thrilling  notes  of  Mr.  Wood's  guitar,  and  "  chansons 
pour  rire,"  from  our  tawny  boatmen,  &c.  were  too  good  to  be  thrown  away, 
and  have  been  registered,  perhaps  for  a  future  occasion.  Suffice  it  for  the 
present,  that  our  fragile  bark  brought  us  in  good  time  to  Fort  Winnebago, 
with  impressions  engraven  on  our  hearts  which  can  never  be  erased,  of  this 
sweet  and  beautiful  little  river,  and  of  the  fun  and  fellowship  which  kept  us 
awake  during  the  nights,  almost  as  well  as  during  the  days.  At  this  post, 
after  remaining  a  day,  our  other  companions  took  a  different  route,  leaving' 
Mr.  Wood  and  myself  to  cater  anew,  and  to  buy  a  light  bark  canoe  for  our 
voyage  down  the  Ouisconsin,  to  Prairie  du  Chien  ;  in  which  we  embarked 
the  next  day,  with  paddles  in  hand,  and  hearts  as  light  as  the  zephyrs,  amid 
which  we  propelled  our  little  canoe.  Three  days'  paddling,  embracing  two 
nights'  encampment,  brought  us  to  the  end  of  our  voyage.  We  entered  the 
mighty  Mississippi,  and  mutually  acknowledged  ourselves  paid  for  our 
labours,  by  the  inimitable  scenes  of  beauty  and  romance,  through  which  we 
had  passed,  and  on  which  our  untiring  eyes  had  been  riveted  during  the 
whole  way. 

The  Ouisconsin,  which  the  French  most  appropriately  denominate  "  La 
belle  riviere,"  may  certainly  vie  with  any  other  on  the  Continent  or  in  the 
world,  for  its  beautifully  skirted  banks  and  prairie  bluffs.  It  may  justly  be 
said  to  be  equal  to  the  Mississippi  about  the  Prairie  du  Chien  in  point  of 
sweetness  and  beauty,  but  not  on  quite  so  grand  a  scale. 

My  excellent  and  esteemed  fellow-traveller,  like  a  true  Englishman,  has 
untiringly  stuck  by  me  through  all  difficulties,  passing  the  countries  above- 
mentioned,  and  also  the  Upper  Mississippi,  the  St.  Peters,  and  the  overland 
route  to  our  present  encampment  on  this  splendid  plateau  of  the  Western 
world.  ***#** 

Thus  far  have  I  strolled,  within  the  space  of  a  few  weeks, 
for  the  purpose  of  reaching  classic  ground. 

Be  not  amazed  if  I  have  sought,  in  this  distant  realm,  the  Indian  Muse, 
for  here  she  dwells,  and  here  she  must  be  invoked — nor  be  offended  if  my 
narratives  from  this  moment  should  savour  of  poetry  or  appear  like  romance. 

If  I  can  catch  the  inspiration,  I  may  sing  (or  yell)  a  few  epistles  from 
this  famed  ground  before  I  leave  it ;  or  at  least  I  will  prose  a  few  of  its 
leading  characteristics  and  mysterious  legends.  This  place  is  great  (not  in 
history,  for  there  is  none  of  it,  but)  in  traditions,  and  stones,  of  which  this 
Western  world  is  full  and  rich. 

"  Here  (according  to  their  traditions),  happened  the  mysterious  birth  of 
the  red  pipe,  which  has  blown  its  fumes  of  peace  and  war  to  the  remotest 
corners  of  the  Continent ;  which  has  visited  every  warrior,  and  passed  through 

Y  2 


164 

its  reddened  stem  the  irrevocable  oath  of  war  and  desolation.  And  here 
also,  the  peace-breathing  calumet  was  born,  and  fringed  with  the  eagle's 
quills,  which  has  shed  its  thrilling  fumes  over  the  land,  and  soothed  the  fury 
of  the  relentless  savage. 

"  The  Great  Spirit  at  an  ancient  period,  here  called  the  Indian  nations 
together,  and  standing  on  the  precipice  of  the  red  pipe  stone  rock,  broke 
from  its  wall  a  piece,  and  made  a  huge  pipe  by  turning  it  in  his  hand,  which 
he  smoked  over  them,  and  to  the  North,  the  South,  the  East,  and  the  West, 
and  told  them  that  this  stone  was  red — that  it  was  their  flesh — that  they 
must  use  it  for  their  pipes  of  peace — that  it  belonged  to  them  all,  and  that 
the  war-club  and  scalping  knife  must  not  be  raised  on  its  ground.  At  the 
last  whiff  of  his  pipe  his  head  went  into  a  great  cloud,  and  the  whole  surface 
of  the  rock  for  several  miles  was  melted  and  glazed ;  two  great  ovens  were 
opened  beneath,  and  two  women  (guardian  spirits  of  the  place),  entered 
them  in  a  blaze  of  fire ;  and  they  are  heard  there  yet  (Tso-mec-cos-tee,  and 
Tso-me-cos-te-won-dee),  answering  to  the  invocations  of  the  high  priests  or 
medicine-men,  who  consult  them  when  they  are  visitors  to  this  sacred 
place.'' 

Near  this  spot,  also,  on  a  high  mound,  is  the  "  Thunder's  nest"  (nid- 
du-Tonnere),  where  "  a  very  small  bird  sits  upon  her  eggs  during  fair 
weather,  and  the  skies  are  rent  with  bolts  of  thunder  at  the  approach  of  a 
storm,  which  is  occasioned  by  the  hatching  of  her  brood  !" 

"  This  bird  is  eternal,  and  incapable  of  reproducing  her  own  species  : 
she  has  often  been  seen  by  the  medicine-men,  and  is  about  as  large  as  the 
end  of  the  little  finger  !  Her  mate  is  a  serpent,  whose  fiery  tongue  destroys 
the  young  ones  as  they  are  hatched,  and  the  fiery  noise  darts  through 
the  skies." 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  stories  of  this  famed  land,  which  of  itself,  in 
its  beauty  and  loveliness,  without  the  aid  of  traditionary  fame,  would  be 
appropriately  denominated  a  paradise.  Whether  it  has  been  an  Indian  Eden 
or  not,  or  whether  the  thunderbolts  of  Indian  Jupiter  are  actually  forged 
here,  it  is  nevertheless  a  place  renowned  in  Indian  heraldry  and  tradition, 
which  I  hope  I  may  be  able  to  fathom  and  chronicle,  as  explanatory  of 
many  of  my  anecdotes  and  traditionary  superstitions  of  Indian  history,  which 
I  have  given,  and  am  giving,  to  the  world. 

With  my  excellent  companion,  I  am  encamped  on,  and  writing  from,  the 
very  rock  where  '<the  Great  Spirit  stood  when  he  consecrated  the  pipe  of 
peace,  by  moulding  it  from  the  rock,  and  smoking  it  over  the  congregated 
nations  that  were  assembled  about  him."  (See  PLATE  270.) 

Lifted  up  on  this  stately  mound,  whose  top  is  fanned  with  air  as  light  to 
breathe  as  nitrous  oxide  gas — and  bivouacked  on  its  very  ridge,  (where 
nought  on  earth  is  seen  in  distance  save  the  thousand  treeless,  bushless, 
weedless  hills  of  grass  and  vivid  green  which  all  around  me  vanish  into 
an  infinity  of  blue  and  azure),  stretched  on  our  bears'-skins,  my  fellow- 


aii  il 

•!  :$:P3i  YtWtoiiSfi  3  r  < 


IfW 

%i  '       reWilffi  '|<  i 

5v>    c<  i  ,;  NA^>/!  jlrt;H  .'  ; 


|f|: 


<€rP«    '^NVi 

3i^i  ly.iB  T 
iiBiiuiffl 

m3«!ifli 

rt^l'cS  .I''!!'!    : 

-  -  •iflA  '•[     «|j    i   v 


!  -,1  •=6^£-<il,>    V/| 

Bb»i^l 


,w-.--»255fe>>3  >  apf      » 
U^_.v-  fen  •-j-/«  i?    JJ        .' 

J^^SflJjS 

3|^^SaS«si'  c ;  i 

<:       "      **V"  ~^=~Jt£rt'>*s  i  V,'  I' :  i    ,'  '•     ' 


c 
t* 

r-T 


ll! 


;  j  ^i       '  M 

(fc^^^^r, ;  Xggi    i  i  "i  :si  k  i  »W 

:  I'M 

jfcjfr  '!|; '  "  ". 


165 

traveller,  Mr.  Wood,  and  myself,  have  laid  and  contemplated  the  splendid 
orrery  of  the  heavens.  With  sad  delight,  that  shook  me  with  a  terror,  have 
I  watched  the  swollen  sun  shoving  down  (too  fast  for  time)  upon  the  mystic 
horizon ;  whose  line  was  lost  except  as  it  was  marked  in  blue  across  his 
blood-red  disk.  Thus  have  we  laid  night  after  night  (two  congenial  spirits 
who  could  draw  pleasure  from  sublime  contemplation),  and  descanted  on 
our  own  insignificance  ;  we  have  closely  drawn  our  buffalo  robes  about  us, 
talked  of  the  ills  of  life — of  friends  we  had  lost — of  projects  that  had  failed 
— and  of  the  painful  steps  we  had  to  retrace  to  reach  our  own  dear  native 
lands  again.  We  have  sighed  in  the  melancholy  of  twilight,  when  the  busy 
winds  were  breathing  their  last,  the  chill  of  sable  night  was  hovering  around 
us,  and  nought  of  noise  was  heard  but  the  silvery  tones  of  the  howling  wolf, 
and  the  subterraneous  whistle  of  the  busy  gophirs  that  were  ploughing  and 
vaulting  the  earth  beneath  us.  Thus  have  we  seen  wheeled  down  in  the 
West,  the  glories  of  day ;  and  at  the  next  moment,  in  the  East,  beheld  her 
silver  majesty  jutting  up  above  the  horizon,  with  splendour  in  her  face  that 
seemed  again  to  fill  the  world  with  joy  and  gladness.  We  hare  seen  here, 
too,  in  all  its  sublimity,  the  blackening  thunderstorm — the  lightning's  glare, 
and  stood  amidst  the  jarring  thunder-bolts,  that  tore  and  broke  in  awful 
rage  about  us,  as  they  rolled  over  the  smooth  surface,  with  nought  but  empty 
air  to  vent  their  vengeance  on.  There  is  a  sublime  grandeur  in  these  scenes 
as  they  are  presented  here,  which  must  be  seen  and  felt  to  be  understood. 
There  is  a  majesty  in  the  very  ground  that  we  tread  upon,  that  inspires  with 
awe  and  reverence ;  and  he  must  have  the  soul  of  a  brute,  who  could  gallop 
his  horse  for  a  whole  day  over  swells  and  terraces  of  green  that  rise  contin 
ually  a-head.  and  tantalize  (where  hills  peep  over  hills,  and  Alps  on  Alps 
arise),  without  feeling  his  bosom  swell  with  awe  and  admiration,  and  himself 
as  well  as  his  thoughts,  lifted  up  in  sublimity  when  he  rises  the  last  terrace, 
and  sweeps  his  eye  over  the  wide  spread,  blue  and  pictured  infinity  that  lies 
around  and  beneath  him.* 

Man  feels  here,  and  startles  at  the  thrilling  sensation,  the  force  of  illimi 
table  freedom — his  body  and  his  mind  both  seem  to  have  entered  a  new 
element — the  former  as  free  as  the  very  wind  it  inhales,  and  the  other  as 
expanded  and  infinite  as  the  boundless  imagery  that  is  spread  in  distance 
around  him.  Such  is  (and  it  is  feebly  told)  the  Coteau  du  Prairie.  The  rock 
on  which  I  sit  to  write,  is  the  summit  of  a  precipice  thirty  feethigh,  extending 
two  miles  in  length  and  much  of  the  way  polished,  as  if  a  liquid  glazing  had 
been  poured  over  its  surface.  Not  far  from  us,  in  the  solid  rock,  are  the  deep 
impressed  "  footsteps  of  the  Great  Spirit  (in  the  form  of  a  track  of  a  large 
bird),  where  he  formerly  stood  when  the  blood  of  the  buffaloes  that  he  was 
devouring,  ran  into  the  rocks  and  turned  them  red."  At  a  few  yards  from  us, 
leaps  a  beautiful  little  stream,  from  the  top  of  the  precipice,  into  a  deep  bason 

*  The  reader  and  traveller  who  may  have  this  boot  with  him,  should  follow  the  C6teau 

a  few  miles  to  the  North  of  the  Quarry,  for  the  highest  elevation  and  greatest  sublimity  of 
view. 


166 

below.  Here,  amid  rocks  of  the  loveliest  hues,  but  wildest  contour,  is  seen 
the  poor  Indian  performing  ablution ;  and  at  a  little  distance  beyond,  on  the 
plain,  at  the  base  of  five  huge  granite  boulders,  he  is  humbly  propitiating 
the  guardian  spirits  of  the  place,  by  sacrifices  of  tobacco,  entreating  for  per 
mission  to  take  away  a  small  piece  of  the  red  stone  for  a  pipe.  Farther 
along,  and  over  an  extended  plain  are  seen,  like  gophir  hills,  their  excava 
tions,  ancient  and  recent,  and  on  the  surface  of  the  rocks,  various  marks 
and  their  sculptured  hieroglyphics — their  wakons,  totems  and  medicines — 
subjects  numerous  and  interesting  for  the  antiquary  or  the  merely  curious. 
Graves,  mounds,  and  ancient  fortifications  that  lie  in  sight — the  pyra 
mid  or  leaping-rock,  and  its  legends ;  together  with  traditions,  novel  and 
numerous,  and  a  description,  graphical  and  geological,  of  this  strange  place, 
have  all  been  subjects  that  have  passed  rapidly  through  my  contemplation, 
and  will  be  given  in  future  epistles. 

On  our  way  to  this  place,  my  English  companion  and  myself  were  arrested 
by  a  rascally  band  of  the  Sioux,  and  held  in  durance  vile,  for  having  dared 
to  approach  the  sacred  fountain  of  the  pipe!  While  we  had  halted  at  the 
trading-hut  of  "  Le  Blanc,"  at  a  place  called  Traverse  des  Sioux,  on  the 
St.  Peters  river,  and  about  150  miles  from  the  Red  Pipe,  a  murky  cloud  of 
dark-visaged  warriors  and  braves  commenced  gathering  around  the  house, 
closing  and  cramming  all  its  avenues,  when  one  began  his  agitated  and  in 
sulting  harangue  to  us,  announcing  to  us  in  the  preamble,  that  we  were 
prisoners,  and  could  not  go  ahead.  About  twenty  of  them  spoke  in  turn  ; 
and  we  were  doomed  to  sit  nearly  the  whole  afternoon,  without  being  allowed 
to  speak  a  word  in  our  behalf,  until  they  had  all  got  through.  We  were 
compelled  to  keep  our  seats  like  culprits,  and  hold  our  tongues,  till  all  had 
brandished  their  fists  in  our  faces,  and  vented  all  the  threats  and  invective 
which  could  flow  from  Indian  malice,  grounded  on  the  presumption  that  we 
had  come  to  trespass  on  their  dearest  privilege, — their  religion. 

There  was  some  allowance  to  be  made,  and  some  excuse,  surely,  for  the 
rashness  of  these  poor  fellows,  and  we  felt  disposed  to  pity,  rather  than  re 
sent,  though  their  unpardonable  stubbornness  excited  us  almost  to  despera 
tion.  Their  superstition  was  sensibly  touched,  for  we  were  persisting,  in 
the  most  peremptory  terms,  in  the  determination  to  visit  this,  their  greatest 
medicine  (mystery)  place  ;  where,  it  seems,  they  had  often  resolved  no 
white  man  should  ever  be  allowed  to  go.  They  took  us  to  be  "  officers 
sent  by  Government  to  see  what  this  place  was  worth,"  &c.  As  "  this 
red  stone  was  a  part  of  their  flesh,"  it  would  be  sacrilegious  for  white 
ni an  to  touch  or  take  it  away" — "  a  hole  would  be  made  in  their  flesh, 
and  the  blood  could  never  be  made  to  stop  running."  My  companion  and 
myself  were  here  in  a  fix,  one  that  demanded  the  use  of  every  energy  we 
had  about  us ;  astounded  at  so  unexpected  a  rebuff,  and  more  than  ever 
excited  to  go  ahead,  and  see  what  was  to  be  seen  at  this  strange  place  ;  in 
this  emergency,  we  mutually  agreed  to  go  forward,  even  if  it  should  be  at 


167 

the  hazard  of  our  lives  ;  we  heard  all  they  had  to  say,  and  then  made  our 
own  speeches — and  at  length  had  our  horses  brought,  which  we  mounted 
and  rode  off  without  further  molestation  ;  and  having  arrived  upon  this  in 
teresting  ground,  have  found  it  quite  equal  in  interest  and  beauty  to  our 
sanguine  expectations,  abundantly  repaying  us  for  all  our  trouble  in  travel 
ing  to  it. 

I  had  long  ago  heard  many  curious  descriptions  of  this  spot  given  by  the 
Indians,  and  had  contracted  the  most  impatient  desire  to  visit  it.*  It  will 
be  seen  by  some  of  the  traditions  inserted  in  this  Letter,  from  my  notes 
taken  on  the  Upper  Missouri  four  years  since,  that  those  tribes  have  visited 
this  place  freely  in  former  times  ;  and  that  it  has  once  been  held  and  owned 
in  common,  as  neutral  ground,  amongst  the  different  tribes  who  met  here  to 
renew  their  pipes,  under  some  superstition  which  stayed  the  tomahawk  of 
natural  foes,  always  raised  in  deadly  hate  and  vengeance  in  other  places. 
It  will  be  seen  also,  that  within  a  few  years  past  (and  that,  probably,  by 
the  instigation  of  the  whites,  who  have  told  them  that  by  keeping  off  other 
tribes,  and  manufacturing  the  pipes  themselves,  and  trading  them  to  other 
adjoining  nations,  they  can  acquire  much  influence  and  wealth),  the  Sioux 
have  laid  entire  claim  to  this  quarry  ;  and  as  it  is  in  the  centre  of  their 
country,  and  they  are  more  powerful  than  any  other  tribes,  they  are  able 
successfully  to  prevent  any  access  to  it. 

That  this  place  should  have  been  visited  for  centuries  past  by  all  the 
neighbouring  tribes,  who  have  hidden  the  war-club  as  they  approached  it, 
and  stayed  the  cruelties  of  the  scalping-knife,  under  the  fear  of  the  vengeance 
of  the  Great  Spirit,  who  overlooks  it,  will  not  seem  strange  or  unnatural, 
when  their  religion  and  superstitions  are  known. 

That  such  has  been  the  custom,  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt ;  and  that 
even  so  recently  as  to  have  been  witnessed  by  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
Indians  of  different  tribes,  now  living,  and  from  many  of  whom  I  have  per 
sonally  drawn  the  information,  some  of  which  will  be  set  forth  in  the  fol 
lowing  traditions  ;  and  as  an  additional  (and  still  more  conclusive)  evidence 
of  the  above  position,  here  are  to  be  seen  (and  will  continue  to  be  seen  for 

*  I  have  in  former  epistles,  several  times  spoken  of  the  red  pipes  of  the  Indians 
which  are  found  in  almost  every  tribe  of  Indians  on  the  Continent ;  and  in  every  instance 
have,  I  venture  to  say,  been  brought  from  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  inasmuch  as  no  tribe 
of  Indians  that  I  have  yet  visited,  have  ever  apprized  me  of  any  other  source  than  this  ; 
and  the  stone  from  which  they  are  all  manufactured,  is  of  the  same  character  exactly,  and 
different  from  any  known  mineral  compound  ever  yet  discovered  in  any  part  of  Europe, 
or  other  parts  of  the  American  Continent.  This  may  be  thought  a  broad  assertion — yet  it 
is  one  I  have  ventured  to  make  (and  one  I  should  have  had  no  motive  for  making,  except 
for  the  purpose  of  eliciting  information,  if  there  be  any,  on  a  subject  so  curious  and  so 
exceedingly  interesting).  In  my  INDIAN  MUSEUM  there  can  always  be  seen  a  great  many 
beautiful  specimens  of  this  mineral  selected  on  the  spot,  by  myself,  embracing  all  of  its 
numerous  varieties  ;  and  I  challenge  the  world  to  produce  anything  like  it,  except  it  be 
from  the  same  locality.  In  a  following  Letter  will  be  found  a  further  account  of  it,  and 
Us  chemical  analysis. 


168 

ages  to  come),  the  totems  and  arms  of  the  different  tribes,  who  have  visited 
this  place  for  ages  past,  deeply  engraved  on  the  quartz  rocks,  where  they  are 
to  be  recognized  in  a  moment  (and  not  to  be  denied)  by  the  passing  traveller, 
•who  has  been  among  these  tribes,  and  acquired  even  but  a  partial  knowledge 
of  them  and  their  respective  modes.* 

The  thousands  of  inscriptions  and  paintings  on  the  rocks  at  this  place,  as 
well  as  the  ancient  diggings  for  the  pipe-stone,  will  afford  amusement  for  the 
world  who  will  visit  it,  without  furnishing  the  least  data,  I  should  think,  of 
the  time  at  which  these  excavations  commenced,  or  of  the  period  at  which  the 
Sioux  assumed  the  exclusive  right  to  it. 

Among  the  many  traditions  which  I  have  drawn  personally  from  the 
different  tribes,  and  which  go  to  support  the  opinion  above  advanced,  is  the 
following  one,  which  was  related  to  me  by  a  distinguished  Knisteneaux,  on 
the  Upper  Missouri,  four  years  since,  on  occasion  of  presenting  to  me  a  hand 
some  red  stone  pipe.  After  telling  me  that  he  had  been  to  this  place — and 
after  describing  it  in  all  its  features,  he  proceeded  to  say  : — 

"  That  in  the  time  of  a  great  freshet,  which  took  place  many  centuries 
ago,  and  destroyed  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  all  the  tribes  of  the  red  men 
assembled  on  the  C6teau  du  Prairie,  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  the  waters. 
After  they  had  all  gathered  here  from  all  parts,  the  water  continued  to  rise, 
until  at  length  it  covered  them  all  in  a  mass,  and  their  flesh  was  converted 
into  red  pipe  stone.  Therefore  it  has  always  been  considered  neutral  ground 
— it  belonged  to  all  tribes  alike,  and  all  were  allowed  to  get  it  and  smoke  it 
together. 

"  While  they  were  all  drowning  in  a  mass,  a  young  woman,  K-wap-tah-w 
(a  virgin),  caught  hold  of  the  foot  of  a  very  large  bird  that  was  flying  over, 
and  was  carried  to  the  top  of  a  high  cliff,  not  far  off.  that  was  above  the 
water.  Here  she  had  twins,  and  their  father  was  the  war-eagle,  and  her 
children  have  since  peopled  the  earth. 

"  The  pipe  stone,  which  is  the  flesh  of  their  ancestors,  is  smoked  by  them 
as  the  symbol  of  peace,  and  the  eagle's  quill  decorates  the  head  of  the  brave." 

Tradition  of  the  Sioux. — "  Before  the  creation  of  man,  the  Great  Spirit 
(whose  tracks  are  yet  to  be  seen  on  the  stones,  at  the  Red  Pipe,  in  form  of  the 
tracks  of  a  large  bird)  used  to  slay  the  buffaloes  and  eat  them  on  the  ledge  of 
the  Red  Rocks,  on  the  top  of  the  C6teau  des  Prairies,  and  their  blood  running 
on  to  the  rocks,  turned  them  red.  One  day  when  a  large  snake  had  crawled 

*  I  am  aware  that  this  interesting  fact  may  he  opposed  by  subsequent  travellers,  who 
will  find  nobody  but  the  Sioux  upon  this  ground,  who  now  claim  exclusive  right  to  it ;  and 
for  the  satisfaction  of  those  who  doubt,  I  refer  them  to  Lewis  and  Clark's  Tour  thirty-three 
years  since,  before  the  influence  of  Traders  had  deranged  the  system  and  truth  of  things, 
in  these  regions.  I  have  often  conversed  with  General  Clark,  of  St.  Louis,  on  this  subject, 
and  he  told  me  explicitly,  and  authorized  me  to  say  it  to  the  world,  that  every  tribe  on 
the  Missouri  told  him  they  had  been  to  this  place,  and  that  the  Great  Spirit  kept  the  peace 
amongst  bis  red  children  on  that  ground,  where  they  had  smoked  with  their  enemies. 


169 

into  the  nest  of  the  bird  to  eat  his  eggs,  one  of  the  eggs  hatched  out  in  a  clap 
of  thunder,  and  the  Great  Spirit  catching  hold  of  a  piece  of  the  pipe  stone 
to  throw  at  the  snake,  moulded  it  into  a  man.  This  man's  feet  grew  fast  in 
the  ground  where  he  stood  for  many  ages,  like  a  great  tree,  and  therefore  he 
grew  very  old  ;  he  was  older  than  an  hundred  men  at  the  present  day ;  and 
at  last  another  tree  grew  up  by  the  side  of  him,  when  a  large  snake  ate  them 
both  off  at  the  roots,  and  they  wandered  off  together  ;  from  these  have 
sprung  all  the  people  that  now  inhabit  the  earth." 

The  above  tradition  I  found  amongst  the  Upper  Missouri  Sioux,  but  which, 
when  I  related  to  that  pan  of  the  great  tribe  of  Sioux  who  inhabit  the  Upper 
Mississippi,  they  seemed  to  know  nothing  about  it.  The  reason  for  this  may 
have  been,  perhaps,  as  is  often  the  case,  owing  to  the  fraud  or  excessive 
ignorance  of  the  interpreter,  on  whom  we  are  often  entirely  dependent  in 
this  country  ;  or  it  is  more  probably  owing  to  the  very  vague  and  numerous 
fables  which  may  often  be  found,  cherished  and  told  by  different  bands  or 
families  in  the  same  tribe,  and  relative  to  the  same  event. 

I  shall  on  a  future  occasion,  give  you  a  Letter  on  traditions  of  this  kind, 
which  will  be  found  to  be  very  strange  and  amusing  ;  establishing  the  fact 
at  the  same  time,  that  theories  respecting  their  origin,  creation  of  the  world, 
&c.  &c.,  are  by  no  means  uniform  throughout  the  different  tribes,  nor  even 
through  an  individual  tribe  ;  and  that  very  many  of  these  theories  are  but 
the  vagaries,  or  the  ingenious  systems  of  their  medicine  or  mystery-men, 
conjured  up  and  taught  to  their  own  respective  parts  of  a  tribe,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  gaining  an  extraordinary  influence  over  the  minds  and  actions  of  the 
remainder  of  the  tribe,  whose  superstitious  minds,  under  the  supernatural 
controul  and  dread  of  these  self-made  magicians,  are  held  in  a  state  of  mys 
terious  vassalage. 

Amongst  the  Sioux  of  the  Mississippi,  and  who  live  in  the  region  of  the 
Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  I  found  the  following  and  not  less  strange  tradition 
on  the  same  subject.  "  Many  ages  after  the  red  men  were  made,  when  all 
the  different  tribes  were  at  war,  the  Great  Spirit  sent  runners  and  called  them 
all  together  at  the  '  Red  Pipe.' — He  stood  on  the  top  of  the  rocks,  and  the 
red  people  were  assembled  in  infinite  numbers  on  the  plains  below.  He 
took  out  of  the  rock  a  piece  of  the  red  stone,  and  made  a  large  pipe ;  he 
smoked  it  over  them  all  ;  told  them  that  it  was  part  of  their  flesh  ;  that 
though  they  were  at  war,  they  must  meet  at  this  place  as  friends ;  that  it 
belonged  to  them  all ;  that  they  must  make  their  calumets  from  it  and  smoke 
them  to  him  whenever  they  wished  to  appease  him  or  get  his  good-will — the 
smoke  from  his  big  pipe  rolled  over  them  all,  and  he  disappeared  in  its  cloud  ; 
at  the  last  whiff  of  his  pipe  a  blaze  of  fire  rolled  over  the  rocks,  and  melted 
their  surface — at  that  moment  two  squaws  went  in  a  blaze  of  fire  under  the 
two  medicine  rocks,  where  they  remain  to  this  day,  and  must  be  consulted 
and  propitiated  whenever  the  pipe  stone  is  to  betaken  away." 

The  following  speech  of  a  Mandan,  which  was  made  to  me  in  the  Manflan 

VOL.   JI.  7 


170 

village  four  years  since,  after  I  had  painted  his  picture,  I  have  copied  from 
my  note-book  as  corroborative  of  the  same  facts  : 

"  My  brother — You  have  made  my  picture  and  I  like  it  much.  My  friends 
tell  me  they  can  see  the  eyes  move,  and  it  must  be  very  good — it  must  be 
partly  alive.  I  am  glad  it  is  done — though  many  of  my  people  are  afraid. 
I  am  a  young  man,  but  my  heart  is  strong.  I  have  jumped  on  to  the  medi 
cine-rock — I  have  placed  my  arrow  on  it  and  no  Mandan  can  take  it  away.* 
The  red  stone  is  slippery,  but  my  foot  was  true — it  did  not  slip.  My  brother, 
this  pipe  which  I  give  to  you,  I  brought  from  a  high  mountain,  it  is  toward 
the  rising  sun — many  were  the  pipes  that  we  brought  from  there — and  we 
brought  them  away  in  peace.  We  left  our  totems  or  marks  on  the  rocks — 
we  cut  them  deep  in  the  stones,  and  they  are  there  now.  The  Great  Spirit 
told  all  nations  to  meet  there  in  peace,  and  all  nations  hid  the  war-club  and 
the  tomahawk.  The  Dah-co-tahs,  who  are  our  enemies,  are  very  strong— 
they  have  taken  up  the  tomahawk,  and  the  blood  of  our  warriors  has  run  on 
the  rocks.  My  friend,  we  want  to  visit  our  medicines — our  pipes  are  old  and 
worn  out.  My  friend,  I  wish  you  to  speak  to  our  Great  Father  about  this." 

The  chief  of  the  Puncahs,  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  also  made  the  following 
allusion  to  this  place,  in  a  speech  which  he  made  to  me  on  the  occasion  of 
presenting  me  a  very  handsome  pipe  about  four  years  since  : — 

"  My  friend,  this  pipe,  which  I  wish  you  to  accept,  was  dug  from  the 
ground,  and  cut  and  polished  as  you  now  see  it,  by  my  hands.  I  wish  you 
to  keep  it,  and  when  you  smoke  through  it,  recollect  that  this  red  stone  is  a 
part  of  our  flesh.  This  is  one  of  the  last  things  we  can  ever  give  away.  Our 
enemies  the  Sioux,  have  raised  the  red  flag  of  blood  over  the  Pipe  Stone  Quarry, 
and  our  medicines  there  are  trodden  under  foot  by  them.  The  Sioux  are 
many,  and  we  cannot  go  to  the  mountain  of  the  red  pipe.  We  have  seen  all 
nations  smoking  together  at  that  place — but,  my  brother,  it  is  not  so  now."f 

*  The  medicine  (or  leaping)  rock  is  a  part  of  the  precipice  which  has  become  severed 
from  the  main  part,  standing  about  seven  or  eight  feet  from  the  wall,  just  equal  in  height, 
and  about  seven  feet  in  diameter. 

It  stands  like  an  immense  column  of  thirty-five  feet  high,  and  highly  polished  on 
its  top  and  sides.  It  requires  a  daring  effort  to  leap  on  to  its  top  from  the  main  wall,  and 
back  again,  and  many  a  heart  has  sighed  for  the  honour  of  the  feat  without  daring  to  make 
the  attempt.  Some  few  have  tried  it  with  success,  and  left  their  arrows  standing  in  its 
crevice,  several  of  which  are  seen  there  at  this  time  ;  others  have  leapt  the  chasm  and 
fallen  from  the  slippery  surface  on  which  they  could  not  hold,  and  suffered  instant  death 
upon  the  craggy  rocks  below.  Every  young  man  in  the  nation  is  ambitious  to  perform 
this  feat;  and  those  who  have  successfully  done  it  are  allowed  to  boast  of  it  all  their  lives. 
In  the  sketch  already  exhibited,  there  will  be  seen,  a  view  of  the  "  leaping  rock  ;"  and  in 
the  middle  of  the  picture,  a  mound,  of  a  conical  form,  of  ten  feet  height,  which  was  erected 
over  the  body  of  a  distinguished  young  man  who  was  killed  by  making  this  daring  effort, 
about  two  years  before  I  was  there,  and  whose  sad  fate  was  related  to  me  by  a  Sioux 
chief,  who  was  father  of  the  young  man,  and  was  visiting  the  Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry, 
with  thirty  others  of  his  tribe,  when  we  were  there,  and  cried  over  the  grave,  as  he  related 
the  story  to  Mr.  Wood  and  myself,  of  his  son's  death. 

t  t)u  my  return  from  the  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  one  of  the  old  chiefs  of  the  Sacs,  on  seeing 


171 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  stories  relating  to  this  curious  place,  and  many  others 
might  be  given  which  I  have  procured,  though  they  amount  to  nearly  the 
same  thing,  with  equal  contradictions  and  equal  absurdities. 

The  position  of  the  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  is  in  a  direction  nearly  West  from 
the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  at  a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles,  on  the  summit 
of  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  St.  Peters  and  the  Missouri  rivers,  being 
about  equi-distant  from  either.  This  dividing  ridge  is  denominated  by  the 
French,  the  "  Coteau  des  Prairies,"  and  the  "  Pipe  Stone  Quarry"  is  situ 
ated  near  its  southern  extremity,  and  consequently  not  exactly  on  its  highest 
elevation,  as  its  general  course  is  north  and  south,  and  its  southern  extremity 
terminates  in  a  gradual  slope. 

Our  approach  to  it  was  from  the  East,  and  the  ascent,  for  the  distance 
of  fifty  miles,  over  a  continued  succession  of  slopes  and  terraces,  almost 
imperceptibly  rising  one  above  another,  that  seemed  to  lift  us  to  a  great 
height.  The  singular  character  of  this  majestic  mound,  continues  on  the 
West  side,  in  its  descent  toward  the  Missouri.  There  is  not  a  tree  or  bush 
to  be  seen  from  the  highest  summit  of  the  ridge,  though  the  eye  may  range 
East  and  West,  almost  to  a  boundless  extent,  over  a  surface  covered  with  a 
short  grass,  that  is  green  at  one's  feet,  and  about  him,  but  changing  to  blue 
in  distance,  like  nothing  but  the  blue  and  vastness  of  the  ocean. 

The  whole  surface  of  this  immense  tract  of  country  is  hard  and  smooth, 
almost  without  stone  or  gravel,  and  coated  with  a  green  turf  of  grass  of  three 
or  four  inches  only  in  height.  Over  this  the  wheels  of  a  carriage  would  run 
as  easily,  for  hundreds  of  miles,  as  they  could  on  a  Me  Adamizecl  road,  and 
its  graceful  gradations  would  in  all  parts,  admit  of  a  horse  to  gallop,  with 
ease  to  himself  and  his  rider. 

The  full  extent  and  true  character  of  these  vast  prairies  are  but  imperfectly 
understood  by  the  world  yet ;  who  will  agree  with  me  that  they  are  a  subject 
truly  sublime,  for  contemplation,  when  I  assure  them,  that  "a  coach  and 
four"  might  be  driven  with  ease,  (with  the  exception  of  rivers  and  ravines, 
which  are  in  many  places  impassable),  over  unceasing  fields  of  green, 
from  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony  to  Lord  Selkirk's  Establishment  on  the  Red 

some  specimens  of  the  stone  which  I  brought  with  me  from  that  place,  observed  as 
follows : — 

"  My  friend,  when  I  was  young,  I  used  to  go  with  our  young  men  to  the  mountain  of 
the  Red  Pipe,  and  dig  out  pieces  for  our  pipes.  We  do  not  go  now  ;  and  our  red  pipes  as 
you  see,  are  few.  The  Dah-co-tah's  have  spilled  the  blood  of  red  men  on  that  place,  and 
the  Great  Spirit  is  offended.  The  white  traders  have  told  them  to  draw  their  bows  upon 
us  when  we  go  there ;  and  they  have  offered  us  many  of  the  pipes  for  sale,  but  we  do  not 
want  to  smoke  them,  for  we  know  that  the  Great  Spirit  is  offended.  My  mark  is  on  the 
rocks  in  many  places,  but  I  shall  never  see  them  again.  They  lie  where  the  Great  Spirit 
sees  them,  for  his  eye  is  over  that  place,  and  he  sees  everything  that  is  here." 

Ke-o-kuck  chief  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  when  I  asked  him  whether  he  had  ever  been 
there,  replied — 

"  No,  I  have  never  seen  it ;  it  is  in  our  enemies'  country, — I  wish  it  was  in  ours — I 
would  sell  it  to  the  whites  for  a  great  many  boxes  of  money." 

'/.  2 


172 

River,  at  the  North  ;  from  that  to  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone  on  the  Mis 
souri — thence  to  the  Platte — to  the  Arkansas,  and  Red  Rivers  of  the  South, 
and  through  Texas  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  a  distance  of  more  than  three 
thousand  miles. 

I  mentioned  in  a  former  Letter,  that  we  had  been  arrested  by  the  Sioux, 
on  our  approach  to  this  place,  at  the  trading-post  of  Le  Blanc,  on  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Peters  ;  and  I  herein  insert  the  most  important  part  of  the 
speeches  made,  and  talks  held  on  that  momentous  occasion,  as  near  as  my 
friend  and  I  could  restore  them,  from  partial  notes  and  recollection.  After 
these  copper-visaged  advocates  of  their  country's  rights  had  assembled  about 
us,  and  filled  up  every  avenue  of  the  cabin,  the  grave  council  was  opened  in 
the  following  manner : — 

Te-o-kun-hko  (the  swift  man),  first  rose  and  said — 

"  My  friends,  I  am  not  a  chief,  but  the  son  of  a  chief — I  am  the  son  of  my 
father — he  is  a  chief — and  when  he  is  gone  away,  it  is  my  duty  to  speak  for 
him — he  is  not  here — but  what  I  say  is  the  talk  of  his  mouth.  We  have 
been  told  that  you  are  going  to  the  Pipe  Stone  Quarry.  We  come  now  to 
ask  for  what  purpose  you  are  going,  and  what  business  you  have  to  go 
there."  ('  How  !  how  !'  vociferated  all  of  them,  thereby  approving  what 
was  said,  giving  assent  by  the  word  how,  which  is  their  word  for  yes). 

"  Brothers — I  am  a  brave,  but  not  a  chief — my  arrow  stands  in  the  top  of 
the  leaping-rock ;  all  can  see  it,  and  all  know  that  Te-o-kun-hko's  foot  has 
been  there.  ('  How  !  how  !') 

"  Brothers — We  look  at  you  and  we  see  that  you  are  Che-mo-ke-mon 
capitains  (white  men  officers)  :  we  know  that  you  have  been  sent  by 
your  Government,  to  see  what  that  place  is  worth,  and  we  think  the  white 
people  want  to  buy  it.  ('  How,  how'). 

"  Brothers — We  have  seen  always  that  the  white  people,  when  they  see 
anything  in  our  country  that  they  want,  send  officers  to  value  it,  and  then  if 
they  can't  buy  it,  they  will  get  it  some  other  way.  ('  How !  how!') 

"  Brothers-^  speak  strong,  my  heart  is  strong,  and  I  speak  fast ;  this  red 
pipe  was  given  to  the  red  men  by  the  Great  Spirit — it  is  a  part  of  our  flesh, 
and  therefore  is  great  medicine.  ('  How  !  how  !') 

"  Brothers — We  know  that  the  whites  are  like  a  great  cloud  that  rises  in 
the  East,  and  will  cover  the  whole  country.  We  know  that  they  will  have 
all  our  lands  ;  but,  if  ever  they  get  our  Red  Pipe  Quarry  they  will  have  to 
pay  very  dear  for  it.  (<  How  !  how  !  how  !') 

"  Brothers — We  know  that  no  white  man  has  ever  been  to  the  Pipe  Stone 
Quarry,  and  our  chiefs  have  often  decided  in  council  that  no  white  man  shall 
ever  go  to  it.  («  How  !  how  !') 

'«  Brothers — You  have  heard  what  I  have  to  say,  and  you  can  go  no  fur 
ther,  but  you  must  turn  about  and  go  back.  («  How  !  how  !  how  !') 

"  Brothers — You  see  that  the  sweat  runs  from  my  face,  for  I  am  troubled." 

Then  I  commenced  to  reply  in  the  following  manner  :— 


173 

"My  friends,  I  am  sorry  that  you  have  mistaken  us  so  much,  and  the 
object  of  our  visit  to  your  country.  We  are  not  officers — we  are  not  sent 
by  any  one — we  are  two  poor  men  travelling  to  see  the  Sioux  and  shake 
hands  with  them,  and  examine  what  is  curious  or  interesting  in  their  countiy. 
This  man  who  is  with  me  is  my  friend  ;  he  is  a  Sa-ga-nosh  (an  Englishman). 

('  How  !  how  !  how  !') 

(All  rising  and  shaking  hands  with  him,  and  a  number  of  them  taking  out 
and  showing  British  medals  which  were  carried  in  their  bosoms.) 

"  We  hare  heard  that  the  Red  Pipe  Quarry  was  a  great  curiosity,  and  we 
have  started  to  go  to  it,  and  we  will  not  be  stopped."  (Here  I  was  inter 
rupted  by  a  grim  and  black-visaged  fellow,  who  shook  his  long  shaggy  locks 
as  he  rose,  with  his  sunken  eyes  fixed  in  direst  hatred  on  me,  and  his  fist 
brandished  within  an  inch  of  my  face.) 

"  Pale  faces  I  you  cannot  speak  till  we  have  all  done ;  you  are  our 
prisoners — our  young  men  (our  soldiers)  are  about  the  house,  and  you  must 
listen  to  what  we  have  to  say.  What  has  been  said  to  you  is  true,  you  must 
go  back.  ('  How  !  how  !') 

"  We  heard  the  word  Saganosh,  and  it  makes  our  hearts  glad  ;  we  shook 
hand  with  our  brother — his  father  is  our  father — he  is  our  Great  Father — he 
lives  across  the  big  lake — his  son  is  here,  and  we  are  glad — we  wear  our 
Great  Father  the  sag-a-nosh  on  our  bosoms,  and  we  keep  his  face  bright* — 
we  shake  hands,  but  no  white  man  has  been  to  the  red  pipe  and  none  shall 
go.  ('  How  !') 

"  Many  and  strong  are  the  recollections  of  the  Sioux  and  other  tribes,  of  their  alliance 
with  the  British  in  the  last  and  revolutionary  wars,  of  which  I  have  met  many  curious  in 
stances,  one  of  which  was  correctly  reported  in  the  London  Globe,  from  my  Lectures, 
and  I  here  insert  it.— 

THE  GLOBE  AND  TRAVELLER. 

"  Indian  Knowledge  of  English  Affairs — Mr.  Catlin,  in  one  of  his  Lectures  on  the  man 
ners  and  customs  of  the  North  American  Indians,  during  the  last  week,  related  a  very 
curious  occurrence,  which  excited  a  great  deal  of  surprise  and  some  considerable  mirth 
amongst  his  highly  respectable  and  numerous  audience.  Whilst  speaking  of  the  great 
and  warlike  tribe  of  Sioux  or  Dahcotas,  of  40,000  or  50,000,  he  stated  that  many  of  this 
tribe,  as  well  as  of  several  others,  although  living  entirely  in  the  territory  of  the  United 
States,  and  several  hundred  miles  south  of  her  Majesty's  possessions,  were  found  cherish 
ing  a  lasting  friendship  for  the  English,  whom  they  denominate  Saganosh.  And  in  very 
many  instances  they  are  to  be  seen  wearing  about  their  necks  large  silver  medals,  with 
the  portrait  of  George  Til.  in  bold  relief  upon  them.  These  medals  were  given  to  them 
as  badges  of  merit  during  the  last  war  with  the  United  States,  when  these  warriors  were 
employed  in  the  British  service. 

"  The  Lecturer  said,  that  whenever  the  word  Saganosh  was  used,  it  seemed  to  rouse 
them  at  once  ;  that  on  several  occasions  when  Englishmen  had  been  in-  his  company  as 
fellow-travellers,  they  had  marked  attentions  paid  them  by  these  Indians  as  Saganoshes. 
And  on  one  occasion,  in  one  of  his  last  rambles  in  that  country,  where  he  had  painted 
several  portraits  in  a  small  village  of  Dahcotas,  the  chief  of  the  band  positively  refused 
to  sit  ;  alleging  as  his  objection  that  the  pale  faces,  who  were  not  to  be  trusted,  might  do 
some  injury  to  his  portrait,  and  his  health  or  his  life  might  be  affected  by  it.  The  paiuter, 


174 

"  You  see  (holding  a  red  pipe  to  the  side  of  his  naked  arm)  that  this  pipe  is 
a  part  of  our  flesh.  The  red  men  are  a  part  of  the  red  stone.  ('  How,  how  !') 

"  If  the  white  men  take  away  a  piece  of  the  red  pipe  stone,  it  is  a  hole 
made  in  our  flesh,  and  the  blood  will  always  run.  We  cannot  stop  the 
blood  from  running.  ('  How,  how  !') 

"  The  Great  Spirit  has  told  us  that  the  red  stone  is  only  to  be  used  for 
pipes,  and  through  them  we  are  to  smoke  to  him.  ('  How  !') 

"  Why  do  the  white  men  want  to  get  there  ?  You  have  no  good  object  in 
view  ;  we  know  you  have  none,  and  the  sooner  you  go  back,  the  better." 
("How,  how!") 

Muz-za  (the  iron)  spoke  next. 

"  My  friends,  we  do  not  wish  to  harm  you  ;  you  have  heard  the  words  of 
our  chief  men,  and  you  now  see  that  you  must  go  back.  ('  How,  how  !') 

"  Tchan-dee-pah-sha-kah-free  (the  red  pipe  stone)  was  given  to  us  by 
the  Great  Spirit,  and  no  one  need  ask  the  price  of  it,  for  it  is  medicine. 
('How,  how!') 

"  My  friends,  I  believe  what  you  have  told  us ;  I  think  your  intentions 
are  good  ;  but  our  chiefs  have  always  told  us,  that  no  white  man  was  allowed 
to  go  there — and  you  cannot  go."  ("  How,  how  !") 

as  he  was  about  to  saddle  his  horse  for  his  departure,  told  the  Indian  that  he  was  a  Saga- 
nosh,  and  was  going  across  the  Big  Salt  Lake,  and  was  very  sorry  that  he  could  not  carry 
the  picture  of  so  distinguished  a  man.  At  this  intelligence  the  Indian  advanced,  and 
after  a  hearty  grip  of  the  hand,  very  carefully  and  deliberately  withdrew  from  his  bosom, 
and  next  to  his  naked  breast,  a  large  silver  medal,  and  turning  his  face  to  the  painter, 
pronounced  with  great  vehemence  and  emphasis  the  word  Sag-a-nosh  !  The  artist,  sup 
posing  that  he  had  thus  gained  his  point  with  the  Indian  Sagamore,  was  making  prepara 
tion  to  proceed  with  his  work,  when  the  Indian  still  firmly  denied  him  the  privilege — 
holding  up  the  face  of  his  Majesty  (which  had  got  a  superlative  brightness  by  having 
been  worn  for  years  against  his  naked  breast),  he  made  this  singular  and  significant 
speech : — '  When  you  cross  the  Big  Salt  Lake,  tell  my  Great  Father  that  you  saw  his 
face,  and  it  was  bright ! '  To  this  the  painter  replied,  '  I  can  never  see  your  Great 
Father,  he  is  dead  ! '  The  poor  Indian  recoiled  in  silence,  and  returned  his  medal  to  his 
bosom,  entered  his  wigwam,  at  a  few  paces  distant,  where  he  seated  himself  amidst  his 
family  around  his  fire,  and  deliberately  lighting  his  pipe,  passed  it  around  in  silence. 

"  When  it  was  smoked  out  he  told  them  the  news  he  had  heard,  and  in  a  few  moments 
returned  to  the  traveller  again,  who  was  preparing  with  his  party  to  mount  their  horses, 
and  enquired  whether  the  Saganoshes  had  no  chief.  The  artist  replied  in  the  affirmative, 
saying  that  the  present  chief  of  the  Saganoshes  is  a  young  and  very  beautiful  woman. 
The  Sagamore  expressed  great  surprise  and  some  incredulity  at  this  unaccountable  infor 
mation  ;  and  being  fully  assured  by  the  companions  of  the  artist  that  his  assertion  was 
true,  the  Indian  returned  again  quite  hastily  to  his  wigwam,  called  his  own  and  the 
neighbouring  families  into  his  presence,  lit  and  smoked  another  pipe,  and  then  communi 
cated  the  intelligence  to  them,  to  their  great  surprise  and  amusement ;  after  which  he 
walked  out  to  the  party  about  to  start  off,  and  advancing  to  the  painter  (or  Great  Medicine 
as  they  called  him),  with  a  sarcastic  smile  on  his  face,  in  due  form,  and  with  much  grace 
and  effect,  he  carefully  withdrew  again  from  his  bosom  the  polished  silver  medal,  and 
turning  the  face  to  the  painter,  said,  '  Tell  my  Great  Mother,  that  you  saw  our  Great 
Father,  and  that  we  keep  his  face  bright !'  " 


175 

Another. — "  My  friends,  you  see  I  am  a  young  man ;  you  see  on  my 
war-club  two  scalps  from  my  enemies'  heads ;  my  hands  have  been  dipped 
in  blood,  but  I  am  a  good  man.  I  am  a  friend  to  the  whites,  to  the  traders; 
and  they  are  your  friends.  I  bring  them  3000  muskrat  skins  every  year, 
which  1  catch  in  my  own  traps.  ('  How,  how  !') 

"  We  love  to  go  to  the  Pipe  Stone,  and  get  a  piece  for  our  pipes ;  but 
we  ask  the  Great  Spirit  first.  If  the  white  men  go  to  it,  they  will  take  it 
out,  and  not  fill  up  the  holes  again,  and  the  Great  Spirit  will  be  offended." 
("  How,  how,  how  !") 

Another. — "  My  friends,  listen  to  me  !  what  I  am  to  say  will  be  the  truth. 
—('How!') 

"  I  brought  a  large  piece  of  the  pipe  stone,  and  gave  it  to  a  white  man  to 
make  a  pipe ;  he  was  our  trader,  and  I  wished  him  to  have  a  good  pipe. 
The  next  time  I  went  to  his  store,  I  was  unhappy  when  I  saw  that  stone 
made  into  a  dish  !  ('  Eugh  !') 

"  This  is  the  way  the  white  men  would  use  the  red  pipe  stone,  if  they  could 
get  it.  Such  conduct  would  offend  the  Great  Spirit,  and  make  a  red  man's 
heart  sick.  ('  How,  how  !') 

"  Brothers,  we  do  not  wish  to  harm  you — if  you  turn  about  and  go  back, 
you  will  be  well,  both  you  and  your  horses — you  cannot  go  forward.  ('  How, 
how  !') 

"  We  know  that  if  you  go  to  the  pipe  stone,  the  Great  Spirit  looks  upon 
you — the  white  people  do  not  think  of  that.  ('  How,  how  !') 

"  I  have  no  more  to  say." 

These,  and  a  dozen  other  speeches  to  the  same  effect,  having  been  pro 
nounced,  I  replied  in  the  following  manner : — 

"  My  friends,  you  have  entirely  mistaken  us  ;  we  are  no  officers,  nor  are 
we  sent  by  any  one — the  white  men  do  not  want  the  red  pipe — it  is  not 
worth  their  carrying  home  so  far,  if  you  were  to  give  it  all  to  them.  Another 
thing,  they  don't  use  pipes — they  don't  know  how  to  smoke  them. 

'  How,  how !' 

"  My  friends,  I  think  as  you  do,  that  the  Great  Spirit  has  given  that  place 
to  the  red  men  for  their  pipes. 

'  How,  how,  how  !' 

"  I  give  you  great  credit  for  the  course  you  are  taking  to  preserve  and 
protect  it ;  and  I  will  do  as  much  as  any  man  to  keep  white  men  from 
taking  it  away  from  you. 

'  How,  how  !' 

"But  we  have  started  to  go  and  see  it;  and  we  cannot  think  of  being 
stopped." 

Another  rose  (interrupting  me)  : — 

"  White  men !  your  words  are  very  smooth  ;  you  have  some  object  in 
view  or  you  would  not  be  so  determined  to  go — you  have  no  good  design, 
and  the  quicker  you  turn  back  the  better ;  there  is  no  use  of  talking  any 


176 

more  about  it — if  you  think  best  to  go,  try  it ;  that's  all  I  have  to  say." 
("  How,  how !") 

During  this  scene,  the  son  of  Monsr.  Le  Blanc  was  standing  by,  and 
seeing  this  man  threatening  me  so  hard  by  putting  his  fist  near  my  face  : 
he  several  times  stepped  up  to  him,  and  told  him  to  stand  back  at  a  respect 
ful  distance,  or  that  he  would  knock  him  down.  After  their  speaking  was 
done,  T  made  a  few  remarks,  stating  that  we  should  go  ahead,  which  we  did 
the  next  morning,  by  saddling  our  horses  and  riding  off  through  the  midst 
of  them,  as  I  have  before  described. 

Le  Blanc  told  us,  that  these  were  the  most  disorderly  and  treacherous 
part  of  the  Sioux  nation,  that  they  had  repeatedly  threatened  his  life,  and  that 
he  expected  they  would  take  it.  He  advised  us  to  go  back  as  they  ordered ; 
but  we  heeded  not  his  advice. 

On  our  way  we  were  notified  at  several  of  their  villages  which  we  passed, 
that  we  must  go  back ;  but  we  proceeded  on,  and  over  a  beautiful  prairie 
country,  of  one  hundred  miles  or  more,  when  our  Indian  guide  brought  us 
to  the  trading-house  of  an  old  acquaintance  of  mine,  Monsieur  La  From- 
boise,  who  lives  very  comfortably,  and  in  the  employment  of  the  American 
Fur  Company,  near  the  base  of  the  Coteau,  and  forty  or  fifty  miles  from  the 
Pipe  Stone  Quarry. 

We  rode  up  unexpectedly,  and  at  full  gallop,  to  his  door,  when  he  met  us 
and  addressed  us  as  follows : — 

"Ha!  Monsr.  how  do  you  do? — Quoi !  ha,  est  ce  vous,  Monsr.  Cata- 
line — est  il  possible  ?  Oui,  oui,  vraiment  le  meme — mon  ami,  Cataline — 
comment  se  va-t-il  ?  et  combien  (pardon  me  though,  for  I  can  speak  Eng- 
glish).  How  have  you  been  since  I  saw  you  last  season  ?  and  how  under 
Heaven,  have  you  wandered  into  this  wild  region,  so  far  from  civilization  ? 
Dismount,  dismount,  gentlemen,  and  you  are  welcome  to  the  comforts, 
such  as  they  are,  of  my  little  cabin." 

"  Monsr.  La  Fromboise,  allow  me  to  introduce  to  your  acquaintance,  my 
friend,  and  travelling  companion,  Mr.  Wood,  of  England." 

"  Monsr.  Wood,  I  am  happy  to  see  you,  and  I  hope  you  will  make  allow 
ance  for  the  rudeness  of  my  cabin,  and  the  humble  manner  in  which  I  shall 
entertain  you." 

"  I  assure  you,  my  dear  sir,  that  no  apology  is  necessary  ;  for  your  house 
looks  as  delightful  as  a  palace,  to  Mr.  Catlin  and  myself,  who  have  so 
long  been  tenants  of  the  open  air." 

"  Gentlemen,  walk  in  ;  we  are  surrounded  with  red  folks  here,  and  you 
will  be  looked  upon  by  them  with  great  surprise." 

"  That's  what  we  want  to  see  exactly.  Catlin  !  that's  fine— oh  !  how 
lucky  we  are." 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  walk  into  the  other  room  ;  you  see  I  have  two  rooms 
to  my  house  (or  rather  cabin),  but  they  are  small  and  unhandy.  Such  as  I  have 
shall  be  at  your  service  heartily  ;  and  I  assure  you,  gentlemen,  that  this  is  the 


177 

happiest  moment  of  my  life.  I  cannot  give  you  feather-beds  to  sleep  on  ; 
but  I  have  a  plenty  of  new  robes,  and  you,  at  all  events,  Monsr.  Cataline, 
know  by  this  time  how  to  make  a  bed  of  them.  We  can  give  you  plenty  of 
buffalo  meat,  buffalo  tongues,  wild  geese,  ducks,  prairie  hens,  venison,  trout, 
young  swan,  beaver  tails,  pigeons,  plums,  grapes,  young  bear,  some  green 
corn,  squash,  onions,  water-melons,  and  pommes  des  terres,  some  coffee  and 
some  tea." 

"  My  good  friend,  one-half  or  one-third  of  these  things  (which  are  all 
luxuries  to  us)  would  render  us  happy  ;  put  yourself  to  no  trouble  on  our 
account,  and  we  shall  be  perfectly  happy  under  your  roof." 

"  I  am  very  sorry,  gentlemen,  that  I  cannot  treat  you  as  I  would  be  glad 
to  do  ;  but  you  must  make  up  for  these  things  if  you  are  fond  of  sporting, 
for  there  are  plenty  of  buffaloes  about ;  at  a  little  distance  the  prairies  are 
speckled  with  them  ;  and  our  prairies  and  lakes  abound  with  myriads  of 
prairie  hens,  ducks,  geese  and  swan.  You  shall  make  me  a  long  visit, 
gentlemen,  and  we  will  have  sport  in  abundance.  1  assure  you,  that  I  shall 
be  perfectly  happy  whilst  you  are  with  me.  Pardon  me  a  little,  while  I 
order  you  some  dinner,  and  attend  to  some  Indians  who  are  in  my  store, 
trading,  and  taking  their  fall  credits." 

4  That's  a  fine  fellow  I'll  engage  you,"  said  my  companion. 

"  Yes,  he  is  all  that.  I  have  known  him  before ;  he  is  a  gentleman,  and  a 
polished  one  too,  every  ounce  of  him.  You  see  in  this  instance  how  durable 
and  lasting  are  the  manners  of  a  true  gentleman,  and  how  little  a  life-time  of 
immersion  in  the  wilderness,  amid  the  reckless  customs  of  savage  life,  will 
extinguish  or  efface  them.  I  could  name  you  a  number  of  such,  whose  sur 
face  seems  covered  with  a  dross,  which  once  rubbed  of,  shows  a  polish 
brighter  than  ever." 

We  spent  a  day  or  two  very  pleasantly  with  this  fine  and  hospitable  fellow, 
until  we  had  rested  from  the  fatigue  of  our  journey ;  when  he  very  kindly 
joined  us  with  fresh  horses,  and  piloted  us  to  the  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  where 
he  is  now  encamped  with  us,  a  jolly  companionable  man,  and  familiar  with 
most  of  the  events  and  traditions  of  this  strange  place,  which  he  has  visited 
on  former  occasions.* 

La  Fromboise  has  some  good  Indian  blood  in  his  veins,  and  from  his 
modes  of  life,  as  well  as  from  a  natural  passion  that  seems  to  belong  to  the 
French  adventurers  in  these  wild  regions,  he  has  a  great  relish  for  songs  and 
stories,  of  which  he  gives  us  many,  and  much  pleasure ;  and  furnishes  us 
one  of  the  most  amusing  and  gentlemanly  companions  that  could  possibly  be 
found.  My  friend  Wood  sings  delightfully,  also,  and  as  I  cannot  sing,  but 
can  tell,  now  and  then,  a  story,  with  tolerable  effect,  we  manage  to  pass  away 

*  This  gentleman,  the  summer  previous  to  this,  while  I  was  in  company  with  him  at 
Prairie  du  Chien,  gave  me  a  very  graphic  account  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  and 
made  for  me,  from  recollection,  a  chart  of  it,  which  I  yet  possess,  and  which  was  drawn 
with  great  accuracy. 

VOL.  ii.  A  A 


178 

our  evenings,  in  our  humble  bivouack,  over  our  buffalo  meat  and  prairie  hens, 
with  much  fun  and  amusement.  In  these  nocturnal  amusements,  I  have 
done  my  part,  by  relating  anecdotes  of  my  travels  on  the  Missouri, 
and  other  parts  of  the  Indian  country  which  I  have  been  over  ;  and 
occasionally  reading  from  my  note-book  some  of  the  amusing  entries  I 
had  formerly  made  in  it,  but  never  have  had  time  to  transcribe  for 
the  world. 

As  I  can't  write  music,  and  can  (in  my  own  way)  write  a  story,  the 
readers  will  acquit  me  of  egotism  or  partiality,  in  reporting  only  my  own  part 
of  the  entertainments  ;  which  was  generally  the  mere  reading  a  story  or  two 
from  my  notes  which  I  have  with  me,  or  relating  some  of  the  incidents 
of  life  which  my  old  travelling  companion  "  Batiste"  and  I  had  witnessed 
in  former  years. 

Of  these,  I  read  one  last  evening,  that  pleased  my  good  friend  La  From- 
boise  so  exceedingly,  that  I  am  constrained  to  copy  it  into  my  Letter  and 
send  it  home. 

This  amusing  story  is  one  that  my  man  Ba'tiste  used  to  tell  to  Bogard, 
and  others  with  great  zest ;  describing  his  adventure  one  night,  in  endea 
vouring  to  procure  a  medicine-bag,  which  I  had  employed  him  to  obtain  for 
me  on  the  Upper  Missouri ;  and  he  used  to  prelude  it  thus  : — 

"  Je  commence — " 

"  Dam  your  commonce,  (said  Bogard),  tell  it  in  English-^-" 

"  Pardon,  Monsieur,  en  Americaine — " 

"  Well,  American  then,  if  you  please;  anything  but  your  darned  ' parlez 
vous.' " 

"  Bien,  excusez — now  Monsieur  Bogard,  you  must  know  first  place,  de 
'  Medicine-Bags7  is  mere  humbug,  he  is  no  medicine  in  him — no  pills  ;  he  is 
someting  mysterieux.  Some  witchcraft,  suppose.  You  must  know  que  tous 
les  sauvages  have  such  tings  about  him,  pour  for  good  luck.  Ce  n'est  que 
(pardon)  it  is  only  hocus  pocus,  to  keep  off  witch,  suppose.  You  must  know 
ces  articles  can  nevare  be  sold,  of  course  you  see  dey  cannot  be  buy.  So  my 
friend  here,  Monsieur  Cataline,  who  have  collect  all  de  cuiiosites  des  pays 
sauvages,  avait  made  strong  applique  to  me  pour  for  to  get  one  of  dese 
medicine-bags  for  his  Collection  curieux,  et  I  had,  pour  moimeme,  le  curi- 
osite  extreme  pour  for  to  see  des  quelques  choses  ces  etranges  looking  tings 
was  composi. 

"  I  had  learn  much  of  dese  strange  custom,  and  I  know  wen  de  Ingin  die, 
his  medicine-bags  is  buried  wis  him. 

"  Oui,  Monsieur,  so  it  never  can  be  got  by  any  boday.  Bien.  I  hap  to 
tink  one  day  wen  we  was  live  in  de  mous  of  Yellow  Stone,  now  is  time,  and 
I  avait  said  to  Monsieur  Cataline,  que  pensez  vous  ?  Kon-te-wonda  (un  des 
chefs  du)  (pardon,  one  of  de  chiefs,  of  de  Knisteneux)  has  die  to-day.  II 
avait  une  medicine-bag  magnifique,  et  extremement  curieux  ;  il  est  compose 
d'un,  it  is  made  (pardon,  si  vous  plait)  of  de  wite  wolf  skin,  ornement  et  stuff' 


179 

wid  tousand  tings  wich  we  shall  see,  ha  ?  Good  luck  !  Suppose  Monsieur 
Cataline,  I  have  seen  him  just  now.  I  av  seede  medicine-bag  laid  on  his 
breast  avec  his  hands  crossed  ovare  it.  Que  pensez  vous  ?  I  can  get  him 
to-night,  ha  ?  If  you  will  keep  him,  if  you  shall  not  tell,  ha  ?  Tis  no  harm 
— 'tis  no  steal — he  is  dead,  ha  ?  Well,  you  shall  see.  But,  would  you  not 
be  afraid,  Ba'tiste,  (said  Monsieur  Cataline),  to  take  from  dis  poor  fellow 
his  medicines  (or  mysteries)  on  which  he  has  rest  all  his  hopes  in  dis  world, 
and  de  world  to  come?  Pardon,  je  n'ai  pas  peur  ;  non,  Monsieur, ne  rien  de 
peur.  I  nevare  saw  ghost — I  have  not  fear,  mais,  suppose,  it  is  not  right, 
exact ;  but  I  have  grand  disposition  pour  for  to  oblige  my  friend,  et  le  curi- 
osite  moimeme,  pour  to  see  wat  it  is  made  of;  suppose  to-night  I  shall  go, 
ha  ?  '  Well,  Ba'tiste,  I  have  no  objection  (said  Monsieur  Cataline)  if  your 
heart  does  not  fail  you,  for  I  will  be  very  glads  to  get  him,  and  will  make  you 
a  handsome  present  for  it,  but  I  think  it  will  be  a  cold  and  gloomy  kind  of 
business.'  Nevare  mind,  Monsieur  Cataline  (I  said)  provide  he  is  well  dead, 
perfect  dead  I  Well,  I  had  see  les  Knisteneux  when  dey  ave  bury  de  chap 
— I  ave  watch  close,  and  I  ave  see  how  de  medicine-bags  was  put.  It  was 
fix  pretty  tight  by  some  cord  around  his  bellay,  and  den  some  skins  was 
wrap  many  times  around  him — he  was  put  down  in  de  hole  dug  for  him,  and 
some  flat  stones  and  some  little  dirt  was  laid  on  him,  only  till  next  day, 
wen  some  grand  ceremonays  was  to  be  perform  ovare  him,  and  den  de  hole 
was  to  be  fill  up ;  now  was  de  only  time  possibe  for  de  medicine -bag,  ha  ?  I 
ave  very  pretty  little  wife  at  dat  times,  Assinneboin  squaw,  and  we  sleep  in 
one  of  de  stores  inside  of  de  Fort,  de  Trade-house,  you  know,  ha  ? 

"  So  you  may  suppose  I  was  all  de  day  perplex  to  know  how  I  should 
go,  somebody  may  watch — suppose,  he  may  not  be  dead!  not  quite 
dead,  ha  ?  nevare  mind — le  jour  was  bien  long,  et  le  nuit  dismal,  dis 
mal  I  oh  by  gar  it  was  dismal  !  plien,  plien  (pardon)  full  of  appre 
hension,  mais  sans  peur,  je  n 'avals  pas  peur  \  So  some  time  aftere 
midnights,  wen  it  was  bout  right  time  pour  go,  I  made  start,  very  light, 
so  my  wife  must  not  wake.  Oh  diable  1'imagination  !  quel  solitude  !  well,  I 
have  go  very  well  yet,  I  am  pass  de  door,  and  I  am  pass  de  gate,  and  I  am 
at  lengts  arrive  at  de  grave !  suppose  '  now  Ba'tiste,  courage,  courage ! 
now  is  de  times  come.'  Well,  suppose,  I  am  not  fraid  of  dead  man,  mais, 
perhaps,  dese  medicine-bag  is  give  by  de  Grande  Esprit  to  de  Ingin  for  some- 
ting  ?  possibe !  I  will  let  him  keep  it.  I  shall  go  back  !  No,  Monsieur 
Cataline  will  laughs  at  me.  I  must  have  him,  ma  foi,  mon  courage  !  so  I 
climb  down  very  careful  into  de  grave,  mais,  as  I  descend,  my  heart  rise  up 
into  my  mouse !  Oh  mon  Dieu  !  courage  Ba'tiste,  courage  !  ce  n'est  pas 
Vhomme  dat  I  fear,  mais  ie  medicine,  le  medicine.  So  den  I  ave  lift  out  de 
large  stones,  I  ave  put  out  my  head  in  de  dark,  and  I  ave  look  all  de  centre 
round  ;  ne  personne,  ne  personne — no  bode  in  sight !  Well,  I  ave  got  softly 
down  on  my  knees  ovare  him,  (oh,  courage  !  courage  !  oui)  and  wen  I  ave 
unwrap  de  robe,  I  ave  all  de  time  say,  '•  pardon,  courage  !  pardon,  courage!' 

A  A  2 


180 

untill  I  ad  got  de  skins  all  off  de  bode  ;  I  ave  den  take  hold  of  de  cord  to 
untie,  mais  ! !  (dans  1'instant)  two  cold  hands  seize  me  by  de  wrists  !  and  I 
was  just  dead— I  was  petrifact  in  one  instant.  Oh  St.  Esprit !  I  could  just 
see  in  de  dark  two  eyes  glaring  like  fire  sur  upon  me  !  and  den,  (oh,  eugh  !) 
it  spoke  to  me,  '  Who  are  you  ?'  (Sacre,  vengeance!  it  will  not  do  to  deceive 
him,  no,)  •  I  am  Ba'tiste,  poor  Ba'tiste!'  'Then  thou  art  surely  mine,  (as 
he  clenched  both  arms  tight  around  my  boday)  lie  still  Ba'tiste.'  Oh,  holy 
Vierge  !  St.  Esprit !  O  mon  Dieu  !  I  could  not  breathe  !  miserable  !  je  sui 
perdu  !  oh  pourquoi  have  I  been  such  fool  to  get  into  dese  cold,  cold  arms  ! 
'  Ba'tiste  ?  (drawing  me  some  tighter  and  tighter !)  do  you  not  belong  to  me, 
Ba'tiste  ?'  Yes,  suppose  !  oh  diable  !  belong  ?  Oui,  oui,  je  suis  certain- 
ment  perdu,  lost,  lost,  for  evare  !  Oh  \  can  you  not  possibe  let  me  go7.  '  No, 
Ba'tiste,  we  must  never  part.'  Grand  Dieu  !  c'est  finis,  finis,  finis  avec 
moi !  "  Then  you  do  not  love  me  any  more,  Ba'tiste  ?"  Quel !  quoi !  what !  ! 
est  ce  vous,  Wee-ne-on-ka  ?  '  Yes,  Ba'tiste,  it  is  the  Bending  Willow  who 
holds  you,  she  that  loves  you  and  will  not  let  you  go?  Are  you  dreaming 
Ba'tiste  ?'  Oui,  diable, !" 

"  Well,  Ba'tiste,  that's  a  very  good  story,  and  very  well  told  ;,  I  presume 
you  never  tried  again  to  get  a  medicine-bag  ?" 

"  Non,  Monsieur  Bogard,  je  vous  assure,  I  was  satisfy  wis  de  mistakes  dat 
night,  pour  for  je  crois  qu'il  fut  1'Esprit,  le  Grand  Esprit." 

After  this,  my  entertaining  companions  sung  several  amusing-  songs,  and 
then  called  upon  me  for  another  story.  Which  Mr.  Wood  had  already 
heard  me  tell  several  times,  and  which  he  particularly  called  for ;  as 

"  THE   STORY  OF  THE   DOG," 

and  which  I  began  as  follows : — 

"  Well,  some  time  ago,  when  I  was  drifting  down  the  mighty  Missouri,  in  a 
little  canoe,  with  two  hired  men,  Bogard  and  Ba'tiste,  (and  in  this  manner 
did  we  glide  along)  amid  all  the  pretty  scenes  and  ugly,  that  decked  the 
banks  of  that  river,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone,  to  St.  Louis,  a 
distance  of  only  two  thousand  miles  ;  Bogard  and  Ba'tiste  plied  their  paddles 
and  I  steered,  amid  snag  and  sand-bar — amongst  drift  logs  and  herds  of 
swimming  buffaloes — our  beds  were  uniformly  on  the  grass,  or  upon  some 
barren  beach,  which  we  often  chose,  to  avoid  the  suffocating  clouds  of  mus- 
quitos  ;  our  fire  was  (by  the  way  we  had  none  at  night)  kindled  at  sundown, 
under  some  towering  bluff — our  supper  cooked  and  eaten,  and  we  off  again, 
floating  some  four  or  five  miles  after  nightfall,  when  our  canoe  was  landed 
at  random,  on  some  unknown  shore.  In  whispering  silence  and  darkness  our 
buffalo  robes  were  drawn  out  and  spread  upon  the  grass,  and  our  bodies 
stretched  upon  them  ;  our  pistols  were  belted  to  our  sides,  and  our  rifles 
always  slept  in  our  arms.  In  this  way  we  were  encamped,  and  another  robe 
drawn  over  us,  head  and  foot,  under  which  our  iron  slumbers  were  secure 
from  the  tread  of  all  foes,  saving  that  of  the  sneaking  gangs  of  wolves,  who 


181 

were  nightly  serenading  us  with  their  harmonics,  and  often  quarrelling  for  the 
privilege  of  chewing  off  the  corners  of  the  robe,  which  served  us  as  a  blanket. 
'  Caleb'  (the  grizzly  bear)  was  often  there  too,  leaving  the  print  of  his  deep 
impressed  footsteps  where  he  had  perambulated,  reconnoitring,  though  not 
disturbing  us.  Our  food  was  simply  buffalo  meat  from  day  to  day,  and 
from  morning  till  night,  for  coffee  and  bread  we  had  not.  The  fleece  (hump) 
of  a  fat  cow,  was  the  luxury  of  luxuries ;  and  for  it  we  would  step  ashore,  or 
as  often  level  our  rifles  upon  the  '  slickest'  of  the  herds  from  our  canoe,  as 
they  were  grazing  upon  the  banks.  Sometimes  the  antelope,  the  mountain- 
sheep,  and  so  the  stately  elk  contributed  the  choicest  cuts  for  our  little 
larder ;  and  at  others,  while  in  the  vicinity  of  war-parties,  where  we  dared 
not  to  fire  our  guns,  our  boat  was  silently  steered  into  some  little  cove  or 
eddy,  our  hook  and  line  dipped,  and  we  trusted  to  the  bite  of  a  catfish  for 
our  suppers  :  if  we  got  him,  he  was  sometimes  too  large  and  tough  ;  and  if 
we  got  him  not,  we  would  swear,  (not  at  all)  and  go  to  bed. 

"  Our  meals  were  generally  cooked  and  eaten  on  piles  of  driftwood,  where 
our  fire  was  easily  kindled,  and  a  peeled  log  (which  we  generally  straddled) 
did  admirably  well  for  a  seat,  and  a  table  to  eat  from. 

"  In  this  manner  did  we  glide  away  from  day  to  day,  with  anecdote  and  fun 
to  shorten  the  time,  and  just  enough  of  the  spice  of  danger  to  give  vigour 
to  our  stomachs,  and  keenness  to  our  appetites — making  and  meeting  acci 
dent  and  incident  sufficient  for  a  '  book.'  Two  hundred  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  Yellow  Stone  brought  us  to  the  village  of  the  kind  and  gentle 
manly  Mandans.  With  them  I  lived  for  some  time — was  welcomed — taken 
gracefully  by  the  arm,  by  their  plumed  dignitaries,  and  feasted  in  their 
hospitable  lodges.  Much  have  I  already  said  of  these  people,  and  more  of 
them,  a  great  deal,  I  may  say  at  a  future  day  ;  but  now,  to  our  '  story.' 
As  preamble,  however,  having  launched  our  light  canoe  at  the  Mandan 
village,  shook  hands  with  the  chiefs  and  braves,  and  took  the  everlasting 
farewell  glance  at  those  models,  which  I  wept  to  turn  from  ;  we  dipped  our 
paddles,  and  were  again  gliding  off  upon  the  mighty  water,  on  our  way  to 
St.  Louis.  We  travelled  fast,  and  just  as  the  village  of  the  Mandans, 
and  the  bold  promontory  on  which  it  stands,  were  changing  to  blue,  and 
'  dwindling  into  nothing,'  we  heard  the  startling  yells,  and  saw  in  distance 
behind  us,  the  troop  that  was  gaining  upon  us  !  their  red  shoulders  were 
bounding  over  the  grassy  bluffs — their  hands  extended,  and  robes  waving 
with  signals  for  us  to  stop !  In  a  few  moments  they  were  opposite  to  us  on 
the  bank,  and  I  steered  my  boat  to  the  shore.  They  were  arranged  for  my 
reception,  with  amazement  and  orders  imperative  stamped  on  every  brow. 
'  Mi-neek-e-sunk-te-ka'  (the  mink),  they  exclaimed,  '  is  dying  !  the  pic 
ture  which  you  made  of  her  is  too  much  like  her — you  put  so  much  of  her 
into  it,  that  when  your  boat  took  it  away  from  our  village,  it  drew  a  part  of 
her  life  away  with  it — she  is  bleeding  from  her  mouth — she  is  puking  up  all  her 
blood  ;  by  taking  that  away,  you  are  drawing  the  strings  out  of  her  heart, 


182 

and  they  will  soon  break  ;  we  must  take  her  picture  back,  and  then  she  will 
get  Well — your  medicine  is  great,  it  is  too  great;  but  we  wish  you  well.' 
Mr.  Kipp,  their  Trader,  came  with  the  party,  and  interpreted  as  above.  I 
unrolled  my  bundle  of  portraits,  and  though  I  was  unwilling  to  part  with  it 
(for  she  was  a  beautiful  girl),  yet  I  placed  it  in  their  hands,  telling  them 
that  I  wished  her  well ;  and  I  was  exceedingly  glad  to  get  my  boat  peace 
ably  under  way  again,  and  into  the  current,  having  taken  another  and 
everlasting  shake  of  the  hands.  They  rode  back  at  full  speed  with  the  por 
trait  ;  but  intelligence  which  I  have  since  received  from  there,  informs  me 
that  the  girl  died  ;  and  that  I  am  for  ever  to  be  considered  as  the  cause  of 
her  misfortunes.  This  is  not  the  '  story,'  however,  but  I  will  tell  it  as  soon 
as  I  can  come  to  it.  We  dropped  off,  and  down  the  rolling  current  again, 
from  day  to  day,  until  at  length  the  curling  smoke  of  the  Riccarees  announced 
their  village  in  view  before  us  ! 

"  We  trembled  and  quaked,  for  all  boats  not  stoutly  armed,  steal  by  them 
in  the  dead  of  night.  We  muffled  our  paddles,  and  instantly  dropped  under 
some  willows,  where  we  listened  to  the  yelping,  barking  rabble,  until  sable 
night  had  drawn  her  curtain  around  (though  it  was  not  sable,  for  the  moon 
arose,  to  our  great  mortification  and  alarm,  in  full  splendour  and  brightness), 
when,  at  eleven  o'clock,  we  put  out  to  the  middle  of  the  stream — silenced 
our  paddles,  and  trusted  to  the  current  to  waft  us  by  them.  We  lay  close 
in  our  boat  with  a  pile  of  green  bushes  over  us,  making  us  nothing  in  the 
world  but  a  '  floating  tree-top.'  On  the  bank,  in  front  of  the  village,  was 
enacting  at  that  moment,  a  scene  of  the  most  frightful  and  thrilling  nature. 
An  hundred  torches  were  swung  about  in  all  directions,  giving  us  a  full  view 
of  the  group  that  were  assembled,  and  some  fresh  scalps  were  hung  on  poles, 
and  were  then  going  through  the  nightly  ceremony  that  is  performed  about 
them  for  a  certain  number  of  nights,  composed  of  the  frightful  and  appalling 
shrieks,  and  yells,  and  gesticulations  of  the  scalp-dance.* 

"  In  addition  to  this  multitude  of  demons  (as  they  looked),  there  were  some 
hundreds  of  cackling  women  and  girls  bathing  in  the  river  on  the  edge  of  a 
sand-bar,  at  the  lower  end  of  the  village  ;  at  which  place  the  stream  drifted  our 
small  craft  in,  close  to  the  shore,  till  the  moon  lit  their  shoulders,  their 
foreheads,  chins,  noses  !  and  they  stood,  half-merged,  like  mermaids,  and 
gazed  upon  us !  singing  '  Chee-na-see-nun,  chee-na-see-nun  ke-mon-shoo, 
kee-ne-he-na,  ha-way-tah  ?  shee-sha,  shee-sha  ;'  '  How  do  you  do,  how  do 
you  do  ?  where  are  you  going,  old  tree  ?  Come  here,  come  here.'  '  Lah- 
kee-hoon  !  lah-kee-hoon  !  natoh,  catogh  V  ((  A  canoe,  a  canoe  !  see  the 
paddle !  !')  In  a  moment  the  songs  were  stopped  !  the  lights  were  out — 

*  But  a  few  weeks  before  I  left  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone,  the  news  arrived  at  that 
place,  that,  a  party  of  trappers  and  traders  had  burnt  two  Riccarees  to  death,  on  the  prairies, 
and  M'Kenzie  advised  me  not  to  stop  at  the  Biccarree  village,  but  to  pass  them  in  the 
night ;  and  after  I  had  got  some  hundreds  of  miles  below  them,  I  learned  that  they  were 
dancing  two  white  men's  scalps  taken  in  revenge  for  that  inhuman  act. 


183 

the  village  in  an  instant  was  in  darkness,  and  dogs  were  muzzled  !  and 
nimbly  did  our  paddles  ply  the  water,  till  spy-glass  told  us  at  morning's 
dawn,  that  the  bank  and  boundless  prairies  of  grass  and  green  that  were  all 
around  us,  were  free  from  following  footsteps  of  friend  or  foe.  A  sleepless 
night  had  passed,  and  lightly  tripped  our  bark,  and  swift,  over  the  swimming 
tide  during  that  day  ;  which  was  one,  not  of  pleasure,  but  of  trembling  ex 
citement  ;  while  our  eyes  were  continually  scanning  the  distant  scenes  that 
were  behind  us,  and  our  muscles  throwing  us  forward  with  tireless  energy. 
******* 

*  *  Night  came  upon  us  again,  and  we  landed  at  the  foot 
of  a  towering  bluff,  where  the  musquitoes  met  us  with  ten  thousand  kicks 
and  cuffs,  and  importunities,  until  we  were  choked  and  strangled  into  almost 
irrevocable  despair  and  madness.* 

"A  '  snaggy  bend'  announced  its  vicinity  just  below  us  by  its  roaring ; 
and  hovering  night  told  us,  that  we  could  not  with  safety  '  undertake  it.' 

"  The  only  direful  alternative  was  now  in  full  possession  of  us,  (I  am 
not  going  to  tell  the  '  story'  yet),  for  just  below  us  was  a  stately  bluff  of  200 
feet  in  height,  rising  out  of  the  water,  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  en 
tirely  denuded  in  front,  and  constituted  of  clay.  '  Montons,  montons  !'  said 
Ba'tiste,  as  he  hastily  clambered  up  its  steep  inclined  plane  on  his  hands 
and  feet,  over  its  parched  surface,  which  had  been  dried  in  the  sun,  *  essayez 
vous,  essayez !  ce'n'est  pas  difficile  Monsr.  Cataline,'  exclaimed  he,  from 
an  elevation  of  about  100  feet  from  the  water,  where  he  had  found  a  level 
platform,  of  some  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  and  stood  at  its  brink, 
waving  his  hand  over  the  twilight  landscape  that  lay  in  partial  obscurity 
beneath  him. 

"  'Nous  avons  ici  une  belle  place  pour  for  to  get  some  slips,  some  coot 
slips,  vare  de  dam  Riccaree  et  de  dam  muskeet  shall  nevare  get  si  haut, 
by  Gar  !  montez,  montez  en  haut.' 

"  Bogard  and  I  took  our  buffalo  robes  and  our  rifles,  and  with  difficulty 
hung  and  clung  along  in  the  crevices  with  fingers  and  toes,  until  we  reached 
the  spot.  We  found  ourselves  about  half-way  up  the  precipice,  which 
continued  almost  perpendicular  above  us ;  and  within  a  few  yards  of  us,  on 
each  side,  it  was  one  unbroken  slope  from  the  bottom  to  the  top.  In  this 
snug  little  nook  were  we  most  appropriately  fixed,  as  we  thought,  for  a 
warm  summer's  night,  out  of  the  reach  entirely  of  musquitoes,  and  all  other 
earthly  obstacles,  as  we  supposed,  to  the  approaching  gratification,  for  which 
the  toils  and  fatigues  of  the  preceding  day  and  night,  had  so  admirably  pre 
pared  us.  We  spread  one  of  our  robes,  and  having  ranged  ourselves  side 
by  side  upon  it,  and  drawn  the  other  one  over  us,  we  commenced,  without 
further  delay,  upon  the  pleasurable  forgetfulness  of  toils  and  dangers  which 

*  The  greater  part  of  the  world  can  never,  I  am  sure,  justly  appreciate  the  meaning  and 
application  of  the  above  sentence,  unless  they  have  an  opportunity  to  encounter  a  swarm 
of  these  tormenting  insects,  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  or  Mississippi  river. 


184 

had  agitated  us  for  the  past  day  and  night.  We  had  got  just  about  to  that 
stage  of  our  enjoyment  which  is  almost  resistless,  and  nearly  bidding  defi 
ance  to  every  worldly  obstrusive  obstacle,  when  the  pattering  of  rain  on  our 
buffalo  robes  opened  our  eyes  to  the  dismal  scene  that  was  getting  up  about 
us  !  My  head  was  out,  and  on  the  watch  ;  but  the  other  two  skulls  were 
flat  upon  the  ground,  and  there  chained  by  the  unyielding  links  of  iron 
slumber.  The  blackest  of  all  clouds  that  ever  swept  hill  tops  of  grass,  of 
clay,  or  towering  rock,  was  hanging  about  us — its  lightning's  glare  was  in 
cessantly  flashing  us  to  blindness ;  and  the  giddy  elevation  on  which  we 
were  perched,  seemed  to  tremble  with  the  roar  and  jar  of  distant,  and 
the  instant  bolts  and  cracks  of  present  thunder !  The  rain  poured  and 
fell  in  torrents  (its  not  enough) ;  it  seemed  floating  around  and  above  us 
in  waves  succeeding  waves,  which  burst  upon  the  sides  of  the  immense  ava 
lanche  of  clay  that  was  above,  and  slid  in  sheets,  upon  us  !  Heavens  !  what  a 
scene  was  here.  The  river  beneath  us  and  in  distance,  with  windings  infinite, 
whitening  into  silver,  and  trees,  to  deathlike  paleness,  at  the  lightning's 
flash  !  All  about  us  was  drenched  in  rain  and  mud.  At  this  juncture, 
poor  Ba'tiste  was  making  an  effort  to  raise  his  head  and  shoulders — he  was 
in  agony  !  he  had  slept  himself,  and  slipt  himself  partly  from  the  robe,  and 
his  elbows  were  fastened  in  the  mud  ! 

"  '  Oh  sacre,  'tis  too  bad  by  Gar  !  we  can  get  some  slips  nevare.' 

"  '  Ugh  !  (replied  Yankee  Bogard)  we  shall  get '  slips'  enough  directly,  by 
darn,  for  we  are  all  afloat,  and  shall  go  into  the  the  river  by  and  by,  in  the 
twinkling  of  a  goat's  eye,  if  we  don't  look  out.' 

"We  were  nearly  afloat,  sure  enough,  and  our  condition  growing  more  and 
more  dreary  every  moment,  and  our  only  alternative  was,  to  fold  up  our 
nether  robe  and  sit  upon  it ;  hanging  the  other  one  over  our  heads,  which 
formed  a  roof,  and  shielded  the  rain  from  us.  To  give  compactness  to  the 
trio,  and  bring  us  into  such  shape  as  would  enable  the  robe  to  protect  us 
all,  we  were  obliged  to  put  our  backs  and  occiputs  together,  and  keep  our 
heads  from  nodding.  In  this  way  we  were  enabled  to  divide  equally  the 
robe  that  we  sat  upon,  as  well  as  receive  mutual  benefit  from  the  one  that  was 
above  us.  We  thus  managed  to  protect  ourselves  in  the  most  important 
points,  leaving  our  feet  and  legs  (from  necessity)  to  the  mercy  of  mud. 

"Thus  we  were  re-encamped.  'A  pretty  mess'  (said  1),  we  look  like 
the  '  three  graces;' — 'de  tree  grace,  by  Gar!'  said  Ba'tiste.  'Grace! 
(whispered  Bogard)  yes,  it's  all  grace  here ;  and  I  believe  we'll  all  be  buried 
in  grace  in  less  than  an  hour.' 

"  '  Monsr.  Cataline  !  excusez  my  back,  si  voiis  plait.  Bogard  !  comment, 
comment  ? — bonne  nuit,  Messieurs.  Oh!  mon  Dieu,  mon  Dieu  !  Je  vous  rends 
grace — je  vous  prie  pour  for  me  sauver  ce  nuit — delivrez  nous !  delivrez 
nous!  Je  vous  adore,  Saint  Esprit — la  Vierge  Marie — oh  je  vous  rends 
grace !  pour  for  de  m'avoir  conserve  from  de  dam  Riccree  et  de  diable  mus- 
keet.  Eh  bien  !  eh  bien  !' 


185 

"  In  this  miserable  and  despairing  mood  poor  Ba'tiste  dropped  off  gradually 
into  a  most  tremendous  sleep,  whilst  Bogard  and  I  were  holding  on  to  our 
corners  of  the  robe — recounting  over  the  dangers  and  excitements  of  the  day 
and  night  past,  as  well  as  other  scenes  of  our  adventurous  lives,  whilst  we 
laid  (or  rather  sat)  looking  at  the  lightning,  with  our  eyes  shut.  Ba'tiste 
snored  louder  and  louder,  until  sleep  had  got  her  strongest  grip  upon  him  ; 
and  his  specific  gravity  became  so  great,  that  he  pitched  forward,  pulling 
our  corners  of  the  robe  nearly  off  from  our  heads,  reducing  us  to  the  neces 
sity  of  drawing  upon  them  till  we  brought  the  back  of  his  head  in  contact 
with  ours,  again,  and  his  body  in  an  erect  posture,  when  he  suddenly  ex 
claimed. 

"  '  Bon  jour,  Monsr.  Bogard  :  bon  jour,  Monsr.  Cataline  ;  n'est  ce  pas 
morning,  pretty  near  ?' 

"  '  No,  its  about  midnight.' 

"  '  Quel  temps  ?' 

"  Why  it  rains  as  hard  as  ever. 

"  '  Oh  diable,  I  wish  I  was  to  hell.' 

"  '  You  may  be  there  yet  before  morning,  by  darn.' 

"  '  Pardon  !  pardon,  Monsr  Bogard — I  shall  not  go  to  night,  not  to  night, 
I  was  joke — mais  !  dis  is  not  joke,  suppose — oh  vengeance  !  I  am  slip  down 
considerable — mais  I  shall  not  go  to  hell  quite — I  am  slip  off  de  seat ! ' 

"  '  What !  you  are  sitting  in  the  mud  ? ' 

"  '  Oui,  Bogard,  in  de  muds  !  mais,  I  am  content,  my  head  is  not  in  de  mud. 
You  see  Bogard,  I  avait  been  sleep,  et  I  raisee  my  head  pretty  suddain,  and 
keepee  my  e  back  e  straight,  et  I  am  slip  off  of  de  seat.  Now,  Monsr. 

Bogard  you  shall  keepee  you  head  straight  and  moove leet,  at 

de  bottom  ?  remercie,  Bogard,  remercie,  -eh  bien. 

— — — — ah  well ha-ha-h a 

— by  Gar,  Bogard,  I  have  a  de  good  joke.     Monsr.  Cataline  will  paintez 
my  likeeness  as  I   am  now  look — he  will  paint  us  all — I  am  tink  he  will 

make  putty  coot  view  ?  ha-ha-ha-a we  should  see  very  putty  landeescape 

aboutee  de  legs,  ha  ?     Ha ha h a a.' 

"Oh, Ba'tiste, for  Heaven's  sake  stop  your  laughing  and  go  to  sleep ;  we'll 
talk  and  laugh  about  this  all  day  to-morrow. 

"  '  Pardon,  Monsr.  Cataline,  (excusez)  have  you  got  some  slips  ?' 

"  No,  Ba'tiste,  I  have  not  been  asleep.  Bogard  has  been  entertaining  me 
these  two  hours  whilst  you  was  asleep,  with  a  description  of  a  buffalo  hunt, 
which  took  place  at  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone,  about  a  year  ago.  It  must 
have  been  altogether  a  most  splendid  and  thrilling  scene,  and  I  have  been 
paying  the  strictest  attention  to  it,  for  I  intend  to  write  it  down  and  send  it 
to  New  York  for  the  cits  to  read." 

"  '  I  like'e  dat  much,  Monsr.  Cataline,  and  I  shall  take  much  plaisir  pour 
vous  donner  to  give  descript  of  someting,  provide  you  will  write  him 
down,  ha?' 

VOL.    II.  B  B 


186 

"  Well  Ba'tiste,  go  on,  I  am  endeavouring  to  learn  everything  that's  curious 
and  entertaining,  belonging  to  this  country. 

"  *  Well  Monsr.  Cataline,  I  shall  tell  you  someting  very  much  entertain, 
mais,  but,  you  will  nevare  tell  somebody  how  we  have  been  fix  to  night  ? 
ha?' 

"No,  Ba'tiste,  most  assuredly  I  shall  never  mention  it  nor  make  painting 
of  it. 

"  '  Well,  je  commence, — diable  Bogard  !  you  shall  keep  your  back  straight 
you  must  sit  up,  ou  il  n'est  pas  possibe  for  to  keep  de  robe  ovare  all.  Je 
commence,  Mons.  Cataline,  to  describe  some  Dog  Feast,  which  I  attend 
among  de  dam  Pieds  noirs.  I  shall  describe  some  grande,  magnifique  cere- 
monay,  and  you  will  write  him  down  ?  ' 

"  Yes,  I'll  put  it  on  paper. 

"  '  Pardon,  pardon,  I  am  get  most  to  slip,  I  shall  tell  him  to-morrow,  per 
haps  I  shall eh  bien  ; — but  you  will  nevare  tell  how  we  look,  ha, 

Monsr.  Cataline  ? ' 

"  No  Ba'tiste,  I'll  never  mention  it. 

"  *  Eh  bien bon  nuit.' 

"  In  this  condition  we  sat,  and  in  this  manner  we  nodded  away  the  night, 
as  far  as  I  recollect  of  it,  catching  the  broken  bits  of  sleep,  (that  were 
even  painful  to  us  when  we  got  them),  until  the  morning's  rays  at  length 
gave  us  a  view  of  the  scene  that  was  around  us  ! !  Oh,  all  ye  brick-makers, 
ye  plasterers,  and  soft-soap  manufacturers !  put  all  your  imaginations  in  a  fer 
ment  together,  and  see  if  ye  can  invent  a  scene  like  this  !  Here  was  a  '  fix' 
to  be  sure.  The  sun  arose  in  splendour  and  in  full,  upon  this  everlasting  and 
boundless  scene  of  '  soft  soap'  and  grease,  which  admitted  us  not  to  move. 
The  whole  hill  was  constituted  entirely  of  tough  clay,  and  on  each  side  and 
above  us  there  was  no  possibility  of  escape;  and  one  single  step  over  the 
brink  of  the  place  where  we  had  ascended,  would  inevitably  have  launched 
us  into  the  river  below,  the  distance  of  an  hundred  feet !  Here,  looking  like 
hogs  just  risen  from  a  mud  puddle,  or  a  buffalo  bull  in  his  wallow,  we  sat, 
(and  had  to  sit,)  admiring  the  wide-spread  and  beautiful  landscape  that  lay 
steeping  and  smoking  before  us,  and  our  little  boat,  that  looked  like  a  nut 
shell  beneath  us,  hanging  at  the  shore ;  telling  stories  and  filling  up  the 
while  with  nonsensical  garrulity,  until  the  sun's  warming  rays  had  licked  up 
the  mud,  and  its  dried  surface,  about  eleven  o'clock,  gave  us  foothold,  when  we 
cautiously,  but  safely  descended  to  the  bottom;  and  then,  at  the  last  jump, 
which  brought  his  feet  to  terra  Jirmay  Ba'tiste  exclaimed,  '  Well,  we  have 
cheatee  de  dam  muskeet,  ha  ! '  " 

And  this,  reader,  is  not  '  the  story,'  but  one  of  the  little  incidents  which 
stood  exactly  in  the  way,  and  could  not  well  be  got  over  without  a  slight 
notice,  being  absolutely  necessary,  as  a  key,  or  kind  of  glossary,  for  the 
proper  understanding  of  the  tale  that  is  to  be  told.  There  is  blood  and 
butchery  in  the  story  that  is  now  to  be  related ;  and  it  should  be  read  by 


187 

every  one  who  would  form  a  correct  notion  of  the  force  of  Indian  super 
stitions. 

Three  mighty  warriors,  proud  and  valiant,  licked  the  dust,  and  all  in 
consequence  of  one  of  the  portraits  I  painted  ;  and  as  my  brush  was  the 
prime  mover  of  all  these  misfortunes,  and  my  life  was  sought  to  heal  the 
wound,  I  must  be  supposed  to  be  knowing  to  and  familiar  with  the  whole 
circumstances,  which  were  as — (I  was  going  to  say,  as  follow)  but  my  want 
of  time  and  your  want  of  patience,  compel  me  to  break  off  here,  and  I 
promise  to  go  right  on  with  the  story  of  the  Dog  in  my  next  Letter,  and  I 
advise  the  reader  not  to  neglect  or  overlook  it. 


188 


LETTER-NO.  55. 

RED  PIPE  STONE  QUARRY,  COTEAU  DES  PRAIRIES. 

WELL,  to  proceed  with  the  Story  of  the  Dog,  which  I  promised ;  (after 
which  I  shall  record  the  tale  of  Wi-jun-jon,  (the  pigeon's  egg  head),  which 
was  also  told  by  me  during  the  last  night,  before  we  retired  to  rest. 

"  I  think  I  said  that  my  little  canoe  had  brought  us  down  the  Missouri, 
about  eight  hundred  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone,  when  we  landed 
at  Laidlaw's  Trading-house,  which  is  twelve  hundred  miles  above  civilization 
and  the  city  of  St.  Louis.  If  I  did  not  say  it,  it  is  no  matter,  for  it  was  even 
so ;  and  «  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  who  had  paddled,  and  I  who  had  steered/ 
threw  our  little  bark  out  upon  the  bank,  and  taking  our  paddles  in  our  hands, 
and  our  'plunder'  upon  our  backs,  crossed  the  plain  to  the  American  Fur 
Company's  Fort,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Laidlaw,  who  gave  us  a  hearty  welcome  ; 
and  placed  us  in  an  instant  at  his  table,  which  happened  at  that  moment  to 
be  stationed  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  distributing  to  its  surrounding  guests 
the  simple  blessings  which  belong  to  that  fair  and  silent  land  of  buffalo- 
tongues  and  beaver's  tails  !  A  bottle  of  good  Madeira  wine  sprung  (a  1'in- 
stant)  upon  the  corner  of  the  table,  before  us,  and  swore,  point  blank,  to  the 
welcome  that  was  expressed  in  every  feature  of  our  host.  After  the  usual 
salutations,  the  news,  and  a  glass  of  wine,  Mr.  Laidlaw  began  thus : — 
*  Well,  my  friend,  you  have  got  along  well,  so  far;  and  I  am  glad  to  see 
you.  You  have  seen  a. .great  many  fine  Indians  since  you  left  here,  and 
have,  no  doubt,  procured  many  interesting  and  valuable  portraits  ;  but  there 
has  been  a  deal  of  trouble  about  the  '  pictures,'  in  this  neighbourhood,  since 
you  went  away.  Of  course,  you  have  heard  nothing  of  it  at  the  Yellow  Stone  ; 
but  amongst  us,  I  assure  you,  there  has  not  a  day  passed  since  you  left, 
without  some  fuss  or  excitement  about  the  portraits.  The  '  Dog'  is  not  yet 
dead,  though  he  has  been  shot  at  several  times,  and  had  his  left  arm  broken. 
The  '  Little  Bears'  friends  have  overtaken  the  brother  of  the  Dog,  that  fine 
fellow  whom  you  painted,  and  killed  him  !  They  are  now  sensible  that  they 
have  sacrificed  one  of  the  best  men  in  the  nation,  for  one  of  the  greatest 
rascals ;  and  they  are  more  desperately  bent  on  revenge  than  ever.  They 
have  made  frequent  enquiries  for  you,  knowing  that  you  had  gone  up  the 
river  ;  alleging  that  you  had  been  the  cause  of  these  deaths,  and  that  if  the 
Dog  could  not  be  found,  they  should  look  to  you  for  a  settlement  of  that 
unfortunate  affair  ! 

'  That  unlucky  business,  taken  altogether,  has  been  the  greatest  piece  of 
medicine  (mystery),  and  created  the  greatest  excitement  amongst  the  Sioux, 
of  anything  that  has  happened  since  I  came  into  the  country.  My  dear  Sir, 


di: 

£ 


189 

you  must  not  continue  your  voyage  down  the  river,  in  your  unprotected 
condition.  A  large  party  of  the  '  Little  Bear's'  band,  are  now  encamped  on 
the  river  below,  and  for  you  to  stop  there  (which  you  might  be  obliged  to 
do),  would  be  to  endanger  your  life.'  "  *  *  *  Reader,  sit  still,  and  let  me 
change  ends  with  my  story,  (which  is  done  in  one  moment,)  and  then,  from 
a  relation  of  the  circumstances  which  elicited  the  friendly  advice  and  caution 
of  Mr.  Laidlaw  just  mentioned,  you  will  be  better  enabled  to  understand  the 
nature  of  the  bloody  affair  which  I  am  undertaking  to  relate. 

"  About  four  months  previous  to  the  moment  I  am  now  speaking  of,  I  had 
passed  up  the  Missouri  river  by  this  place,  on  the  steam-boat  Yellow  Stone, 
on  which  I  ascended  the  Missouri  to  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone  river.  While 
going  up,  this  boat,  having  on  board  the  United  States  Indian  agent.  Major 
Sanford — Messrs.  Pierre,  Chouteau,  McKenzie  of  the  American  Fur  Com 
pany,  and  myself,  as  passengers,  stopped  at  this  trading-post,  and  remained 
several  weeks  ;  where  were  assembled  six  hundred  families  of  Sioux  Indians, 
their  tents  being  pitched  in  close  order  on  an  extensive  prairie  on  the  bank 
of  the  river. 

"  '  This  trading-post,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Laidlaw,  is  the  concentrating  place, 
and  principal  trading  depot,  for  this  powerful  tribe,  who  number,  when  all 
taken  together,  something  like  forty  or  fifty  thousand.  On  this  occasion, 
five  or  six  thousand  had  assembled  to  see  the  steam-boat  and  meet  the  In 
dian  agent,  which,  and  whom  they  knew  were  to  arrive  about  this  time. 
During  the  few  weeks  that  we  remained  there,  I  was  busily  engaged  painting 
my  portraits,  for  here  were  assembled  the  principal  chiefs  and  medicine-men 
of  the  nation.  To  these  people,  the  operations  of  my  brush  were  entirely 
new  and  unaccountable,  and  excited  amongst  them  the  greatest  curiosity 
imaginable.  Every  thing  else  (even  the  steam-boat)  was  abandoned  for  the 
pleasure  of  crowding  into  my  painting-room,  and  witnessing  the  result  of 
each  fellow's  success,  as  he  came  out  from  under  the  operation  of  my  brush. 

"  They  had  been  at  first  much  afraid  of  the  consequences  that  might  flow 
from  so  strange  and  unaccountable  an  operation ;  but  having  been  made  to 
understand  my  views,  they  began  to  look  upon  it  as  a  great  honour,  and 
afforded  me  the  opportunities  that  I  desired  ;  exhibiting  the  utmost  degree 
of  vanity  for  their  appearance,  both  as  to  features  and  dress.  The  conse 
quence  was,  that  my  room  was  filled  with  the  chiefs  who  sat  around,  arranged 
according  to  the  rank  or  grade  which  they  held  in  the  estimation  of  their 
tribe  ;  and  in  this  order  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  paint  them,  to  the 
exclusion  of  those  who  never  signalized  themselves,  and  were  without  any 
distinguishing  character  in  society. 

"  The  first  man  on  the  list,  was  Ha-wan-ghee-ta  (one  horn),  head  chief  of 

e  nation,  of  whom  I  have  heretofore  spoken  ;  and  after  him  the  subordinate 
hiefs,  or  chiefs  of  bands,  according  to  the  estimation  in  which  they  were  held 
y  the  chief  and  the  tribe.  My  models  were  thus  placed  before  me,  whether 
ugly  or  beautiful,  all  the  same,  and  I  saw  at  once  there  was  to  be  trouble 


190 

somewhere,  as  I  could  not  paint  them  all.  The  medicine-men  or  high 
priests,  who  are  esteemed  by  many  the  oracles  of  the  nation,  and  the  most 
important  men  in  it — becoming  jealous,  commenced  their  harangues,  out 
side  of  the  lodge,  telling  them  that  they  were  all  fools — that  those  who  were 
painted  would  soon  die  in  consequence  ;  and  that  these  pictures,  which  had 
life  to  a  considerable  degree  in  them,  would  live  in  the  hands  of  white  men 
after  they  were  dead,  and  make  them  sleepless  and  endless  trouble. 

"Those  whom  I  had  painted,  though  evidently  somewhat  alarmed,  were 
unwilling  to  acknowledge  it,  and  those  whom  I  had  not  painted,  unwilling 
to  be  outdone  in  courage,  allowed  me  the  privilege  ;  braving  and  defying 
the  danger  that  they  were  evidently  more  or  less  in  dread  of.  Feuds  began 
to  arise  too,  among  some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  different  bands,  who  (not  unlike 
some  instances  amongst  the  chiefs  and  warriors  of  our  own  country),  had 
looked  upon  their  rival  chiefs  with  unsleeping  jealousy,  until  it  had  grown 
into  disrespect  and  enmity.  An  instance  of  this  kind  presented  itself  at 
this  critical  juncture,  in  this  assembly  of  inflammable  spirits,  which  changed 
in  a  moment,  its  features,  from  the  free  and  jocular  garrulity  of  an  Indian 
levee,  to  the  frightful  yells  and  agitated  treads  and  starts  of  an  Indian  battle! 
I  had  in  progress  at  this  time  a  portrait  of  Mah-to-tchee-ga  (little  bear) ;  of 
the  Onc-pa-pa  band,  a  noble  fine  fellow,  who  was^  sitting  before  me  as  I 
was  painting  (PLATE  273).  I  was  painting  almost  a  profile  view  of  his  face, 
throwing  a  part  of  it  into  shadow,  and  had  it  nearly  finished,  when  an  Indian 
by  the  name  of  Shon-ka  (the  dog),  chief  of  the  Caz-a-zshee-ta  band  (PLATE 
275)  ;  an  ill-natured  and  surly  man — despised  by  the  chiefs  of  every  other 
band,  entered  the  wigwam  in  a  sullen  mood,  and  seated  himself  on  the  floor 
in  front  of  my  sitter,  where  he  could  have  a  full  view  of  the  picture  in  its 
operation.  After  sitting  a  while  with  his  arms  folded,  and  his  lips  stiffly 
arched  with  contempt ;  he  sneeringly  spoke  thus  : — 

"  '  Mah-to-tchee-ga  is  but  half  a  man.' 

*  *  *  "  Dead  silence  ensued  for  a  moment,  and  nought  was  in 
motion  sare  the  eyes  of  the  chiefs,  who  were  seated  around  the  room,  and 
darting  their  glances  about  upon  each  other  in  listless  anxiety  to  hear  the 
sequel  that  was  to  follow  !  During  this  interval,  the  eyes  of  Mah-to-tchee-ga 
had  not  moved — his  lips  became  slightly  curved,  and  he  pleasantly  asked,  in 
low  and  steady  accent,  '  Who  says  that  ?'  '  Shon-ka  says  it,'  was  the  reply ; 
'  and  Shon-ka  can  prove  it.'  At  this  the  eyes  of  Mah-to-tchee-ga,  which 
had  not  yet  moved,  began  steadily  to  turn,  and  slow,  as  if  upon  pivots,  and 
when  they  were  rolled  out  of  their  sockets  til)  they  had  fixed  upon  the  ob 
ject  of  their  contempt ;  his  dark  and  jutting  brows  were  shoving  down  in  trem 
bling  contention,  with  the  blazing  rays  that  were  actually  burning  with 
contempt,  the  object  that  was  before  them.  '  Why  does  Shon-ka  say  it  ?' 

"  '  Ask  We-chash-a-wa-kon  (the  painter),  he  can  tell  you ;  he  knows  you 
are  but  half  a  man — he  has  painted  but  one  half  of  your  face,  and  knows 
the  other  half  is  good  for  nothing !' 


191 

"  '  Let  the  painter  say  it,  and  I  will  believe  it ;  but  when  the  Dog  says  it 
let  him  prove  it.' 

" '  Shon-ka  said  it,  and  Shon-ka  can  prove  it ;  if  Mah-to-tchee-ga  be  a  man, 
and  wants  to  be  honoured  by  the  white  men,  let  him  not  be  ashamed ;  but 
let  him  do  as  Shon-ka  has  done,  give  the  white  man  a  horse,  and  then  let 
him  see  the  whole  of  your  face  without  being  ashamed.' 

"  '  When  Mah-to-tchee-ga  kills  a  white  man  and  steals  his  horses,  he  may 
be  ashamed  to  look  at  a  white  man  until  he  brings  him  a  horse !  When 
Mah-to-tchee-ga  waylays  and  murders  an  honourable  and  a  brave  Sioux, 
because  he  is  a  coward  and  not  brave  enough  to  meet  him  in  fair  combat, 
then  he  may  be  ashamed  to  look  at  a  white  man  till  he  has  given  him  a 
horse  !  Mah-to-tchee-ga  can  look  at  any  one ;  and  he  is  now  looking  at 
an  old  woman  and  a  coward  !' 

"  This  repartee,  which  had  lasted  for  a  few  minutes,  to  the  amusement  and 
excitement  of  the  chiefs,  being  ended  thus  : — The  Dog  rose  suddenly  from  the 
ground,  and  wrapping  himself  in  his  robe,  left  the  wigwam,  considerably  agi 
tated,  having  the  laugh  of  all  the  chiefs  upon  him. 

"  The  Little  Bear  had  followed  him  with  his  piercing  eyes  until  he  left  the 
door,  and  then  pleasantly  and  unmoved,  resumed  his  position,  where  he  sat 
a  few  minutes  longer,  until  the  portrait  was  completed.  He  then  rose,  and 
in  the  most  graceful  and  gentlemanly  manner,  presented  to  me  a  very  beau 
tiful  shirt  of  buckskin,  richly  garnished  with  quills  of  the  porcupine,  fringed 
with  scalp-locks  (honourable  memorials)  from  his  enemies'  heads,  and 
painted,  with  all  his  battles  emblazoned  on  it.  He  then  left  my  wigwam, 
and  a  few  steps  brought  him  to  the  door  of  his  own,  where  the  Dog  inter 
cepted  him,  and  asked,  '  What  meant  Mah-to-tchee-ga  by  the  last  words 
that  he  spoke  to  Shon-ka?'  '  Mah-to-tchee-ga  said  it,  and  Shon-ka  is  not 
a  fool — that  is  enough.'  At  this  the  Dog  walked  violently  to  his  own 
lodge ;  and  the  Little  Bear  retreated  into  his,  both  knowing  from  looks  and 
gestures  what  was  about  to  be  the  consequence  of  their  altercation. 

"  The  Little  Bear  instantly  charged  his  gun,  and  then  (as  their  custom  is) 
threw  himself  upon  his  face,  in  humble  supplication  to  the  Great  Spirit  for 
his  aid  and  protection.  His  wife,  in  the  meantime,  seeing  kim  agitated,  and 
fearing  some  evil  consequences,  without  knowing  anything  of  the  prelimi 
naries,  secretly  withdrew  the  bullet  from  his  gun,  and  told  him  not  of  it. 

"  The  Dog's  voice,  at  this  moment,  was  heard,  and  recognized  at  the  door 
of  Mah-to-tchee-ga's  lodge, — '  If  Mah-to-tchee-ga  be  a  whole  man,  let 
him  come  out  and  prove  it ;  it  is  Shon-ka  that  calls  him  !' 

"  His  wife  screamed ;  but  it  was  too  late.  The  gun  was  in  his  hand,  and 
he  sprang  out  of  the  door — both  drew  and  simultaneously  fired  !  The  Dog 
fled  uninjured ;  but  the  Little  Bear  lay  weltering  in  his  blood  (strange  to 
say  !)  with  all  that  side  of  his  face  entirely  shot  away,  which  had  been  left 
out  of  the  picture;  and,  according  to  the  prediction  of  the  Dog,  'good  for 
nothing;'  carrying  away  one  half  of  the  jaws,  and  the  flesh  from  the  nostrils 


192 

and  corner  of  the  mouth,  to  the  ear,  including  one  eye,  and  leaving  the 
jugular  vein  entirely  exposed.  Here  was  a  '  coup  ;'  and  any  one  accus 
tomed  to  the  thrilling  excitement  that  such  scenes  produce  in  an  Indian 
village,  can  form  some  idea  of  the  frightful  agitation  amidst  several  thousand 
Indians,  who  were  divided  into  jealous  bands  or  clans,  under  ambitious  and 
rival  chiefs  !  In  one  minute,  a  thousand  guns  and  bows  were  seized  !  A 
thousand  thrilling  yells  were  raised  ;  and  many  were  the  fierce  and  darting 
warriors  who  sallied  round  the  Dog  for  his  protection — he  fled  amidst  a 
shower  of  bullets  and  arrows  ;  but  his  braves  were  about  him !  The  blood 
of  the  Onc-pa-pas  was  roused,  and  the  indignant  braves  of  that  gallant 
band  rushed  forth  from  all  quarters,  and,  swift  upon  their  heels,  were  hot  for 
vengeance !  On  the  plain,  and  in  full  view  of  us,  for  some  time,  the  whizzing 
arrows  flew,  and  so  did  bullets,  until  the  Dog  and  his  brave  followers  were 
lost  in  distance  on  the  prairie  !  In  this  rencontre,  the  Dog  had  his  left  arm 
broken ;  but  succeeded,  at  length,  in  making  his  escape. 

"  On  the  next  day  after  this  affair  took  place,  the  Little  Bear  died  of  his 
wound,  and  was  buried  amidst  the  most  pitiful  and  heart-rending  cries  of  his 
distracted  wife,  whose  grief  was  inconsolable  at  the  thought  of  having  been 
herself  the  immediate  and  innocent  cause  of  his  death,  by  depriving  him  of 
his  supposed  protection. 

"  This  marvellous  and  fatal  transaction  was  soon  talked  through  the  vil 
lage,  and  the  eyes  of  all  this  superstitious  multitude  were  fixed  upon  me  as 
the  cause  of  the  calamity — my  paintings  and  brushes  were  instantly  packed, 
and  all  hands,  both  Traders  and  Travellers,  assumed  at  once  a  posture  of 
defence. 

"  I  evaded,  no  doubt,  in  a  great  measure,  the  concentration  of  their  im 
mediate  censure  upon  me,  by  expressions  of  great  condolence,  and  by  dis 
tributing  liberal  presents  to  the  wife  and  relations  of  the  deceased  ;  and  by 
uniting  also  with  Mr.  Laidlaw  and  the  other  gentlemen,  in  giving  him 
honourable  burial,  where  we  placed  over  his  grave  a  handsome  Sioux  lodge, 
and  hung  a  white  flag  to  wave  over  it. 

"  On  this  occasion,  many  were  the  tears  that  were  shed  for  the  brave  and 
honourable  Mah-to-tchee-ga,  and  all  the  warriors  of  his  band  swore  sleep 
less  vengeance  on  the  Dog,  until  his  life  should  answer  for  the  loss  of  their 
chief  and  leader. 

"  On  the  day  that  he  was  buried,  I  started  for  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone, 
and  while  I  was  gone,  the  spirit  of  vengeance  had  pervaded  nearly  all  the 
Sioux  country  in  search  of  the  Dog,  who  had  evaded  pursuit.  His  brother, 
however  (PLATE  274),  a  noble  and  honourable  fellow,  esteemed  by  all 
who  knew  him,  fell  in  their  way  in  an  unlucky  hour,  \vhen  their  thirst  for 
vengeance  was  irresistible,  and  they  slew  him.  Repentance  deep,  and  grief 
were  the  result  of  so  rash  an  act,  when  they  beheld  a  brave  and  worthy  man 
fall  for  so  worthless  a  character ;  and  as  they  became  exasperated,  the  spirit 
of  revenge  grew  more  desperate  than  ever,  and  they  swore  they  never  would 


193 

lay  down  their  arms  or  embrace  their  wives  and  children  until  vengeance, 
full  and  complete,  should  light  upon  the  head  that  deserved  it.  This  brings 
us  again  to  the  first  part  of  my  story,  and  in  this  state  were  things  in  that 
part  of  the  country,  when  I  was  descending  the  river,  four  months  after 
wards,  and  landed  my  canoe  as  I  before  stated,  at  Laidlaw's  trading-house. 

"  The  excitement  had  been  kept  up  all  summer  amongst  these  people,  and 
their  superstitions  bloated  to  the  full  brim,  from  circumstances  so  well  cal 
culated  to  feed  and  increase  them.  Many  of  them  looked  to  me  at  once  as 
the  author  of  all  these  disasters,  considering  I  knew  that  one  half  of  the 
man's  face  was  good  for  nothing,  or  that  I  would  not  have  left  it  out  of  the 
picture,  and  that  I  must  therefore  have  foreknown  the  evils  that  were  to  flow 
from  the  omission  ;  they  consequently  resolved  that  I  was  a  dangerous  man, 
and  should  suffer  for  my  temerity  in  case  the  Dog  could  not  be  found.  Councils 
had  been  held,  and  in  all  the  solemnity  of  Indian  medicine  and  mystery,  I 
had  been  doomed  to  die  !  At  one  of  these,  a  young  warrior  of  the  One-pa 
pa  band,  arose  and  said,  '  The  blood  of  two  chiefs  has  just  sunk  into  the 
ground,  and  an  hundred  bows  are  bent  which  are  ready  to  shed  more  !  on 
whom  shall  we  bend  them  ?  I  am  a  friend  to  the  white  men,  but  here  is 
one  whose  medicine  is  too  great — he  is  a  great  medicine-man  \  his  medicine 
is  too  great !  he  was  the  death  of  Mah-to-tchee-ga  !  he  made  only  one  side 
of  his  face  !  he  would  not  make  the  other — the  side  that  he  made  was  alive ; 
the  other  was  dead,  and  Shonka  shot  it  off!  How  is  this?  Who  is  to 
die.' 

"  After  him,  Tah-zee-kee-da-cha  (torn  belly),  of  the  Yankton  band,  arose 
and  said — '  Father,  this  medicine-man  has  done  much  harm !  You  told 
our  chiefs  and  warriors,  that  they  must  be  painted — you  said  he  was  a 
good  man,  and  we  believed  you ! — you  thought  so,  my  father,  but  you  see 
what  he  has  done  ! — he  looks  at  our  chiefs  and  our  women  and  then  makes 
them  alive  ! !  In  this  way  he  has  taken  our  chiefs  away,  and  he  can  trouble 
their  spirits  when  they  are  dead  ! — they  will  be  unhappy.  If  he  can  make 
them  alive  by  looking  at  them,  he  can  do  us  much  harm  ! — you  tell  us  that 
they  are  not  alive — we  see  their  eyes  move  ! — their  eyes  follow  us  wherever 
we  go,  that  is  enough  !  I  have  no  more  to  say  ! '  After  him,  rose  a  young 
man  of  the  Onc-pa-pa  band.  '  Father !  you  know  that  I  am  the  brother 
of  Mah-to-tchee-ga  \  --  you  know  that  I  loved  him — both  sides  of  his  face 
were  good,  and  the  medicine-man  knew  it  also!  Why  was  half  of  his  face 
left  out  ?  He  never  was  ashamed,  but  always  looked  white  man  in  the  face! 
Why  was  that  side  of  his  face  shot  off  ?  Your  friend  is  not  our  friend,  and 
has  forfeited  his  life — we  want  you  to  tell  us  where  he  is — we  want  to  see 
him  ! ' 

"  Then  rose  Toh-ki-e-to  (a  medicine-man)  of  the  Yankton  band,  and 
principal  orator  of  the  nation.)  '  My  friend,  these  are  young  men  that 
speak — I  am  not  afraid  !  your  white  medicine-man  painted  my  picture,  and 
it  was  good — I  am  glad  of  it — I  am  very  glad  to  see  that  I  shall  live  after 

VOL.  ii.  c  c 


194 

I  am  dead  ! — I  am  old  and  not  afraid  ! — some  of  our  young  men  are  foolish. 
I  know  that  this  man  put  many  of  our  buffaloes  in  his  book  !  for  I  was 
with  him,  and  we  have  had  no  buffaloes  since  to  eat,  it  is  true— but  I  am 
not  afraid  ! !  his  medicine  is  great  and  I  wish  him  well — we  are  friends  !' 

"  In  this  wise  was  the  subject  discussed  by  these  superstitious  people  du 
ring  my  absence,  and  such  were  the  reasons  given  by  my  friend  Mr.  Laidlaw, 
for  his  friendly  advice;  wherein  he  cautioned  me  against  exposing  my  life  in 
their  hands,  advising  me  to  take  some  other  route  than  that  which  I  was 
pursuing  down  the  river,  where  I  would  find  encamped  at  the  mouth  of 
Cabri  river,  eighty  miles  below,  several  hundred  Indians  belonging  to  the 
Little  Bear's  band,  and  I  might  possibly  fall  a  victim  to  their  unsatiated 
revenge.  I  resumed  my  downward  voyage  in  a  few  days,  however,  with  my 
little  canoe,  which  '  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  paddled  and  I  steered,'  and  passed 
their  encampment  in  peace,  by  taking  the  opposite  shore.  The  usual  friendly 
invitation  however,  was  given  (which  is  customary  on  that  river),  by  skipping 
several  rifle  bullets  across  the  river,  a  rod  or  two  ahead  of  us.  To  those 
invitations  we  paid  no  attention,  and  (not  suspecting  who  we  were),  they 
allowed  us  to  pursue  our  course  in  peace  and  security.  Thus  rested 
the  affair  of  the  Dog  and  its  consequences,  until  I  conversed  with  Major 
Bean,  the  agent  for  these  people,  who  arrived  in  St.  Louis  some  weeks  after 
I  did,  bringing  later  intelligence  from  them,  assuring  me  that  '  the  Dog 
had  at  length  been  overtaken  and  killed,  near  the  Black-hills,  and  that  the 
affair  might  now  for  ever  be  considered  as  settled.'  " 

Thus  happened,  and  thus  terminated  the  affair  of  "  the  Dog,"  wherein 
have  fallen  three  distinguished  warriors  ;  and  wherein  might  have  fallen  one 
"  great  medicine-man !"  and  all  in  consequence  of  the  operations  of  my 
brush.  The  portraits  of  the  three  first  named  will  long  hang  in  my  Gallery 
for  the  world  to  gaze  upon ;  and  the  head  of  the  latter  (whose  hair  yet  re 
mains  on  it),  may  probably  be  seen  (for  a  time  yet)  occasionally  stalking 
about  in  the  midst  of  this  Collection  of  Nature's  dignitaries. 

The  circumstances  above  detailed,  are  as  correctly  given  as  I  could  fur 
nish  them  !  and  they  have  doubtless  given  birth  to  one  of  the  most  wonder 
ful  traditions,  which  will  be  told  and  sung  amongst  the  Sioux  Indians  from 
age  to  age  ;  furnishing  one  of  the  rarest  instances,  perhaps,  on  record,  of  the 
extent  to  which  these  people  may  be  carried  by  the  force  of  their  superstitions. 
After  I  had  related  this  curious  and  unfortunate  affair,  I  was  called  upon 
to  proceed  at  once  with  the 

STORY  OF  WI-JUN-JON  (THE  PIGEON'S  EGO  HEAD)  ; 

and  I  recited  it  as  I  first  told  it  to  poor  Ba'tiste,  on  a  former  occasion, 
which  was  as  follows  : — 

"  Well,  Ba'tiste,  I  promised  last  night,  as  you  were  going  to  sleep,  that 
I  would  tell  you  a  story  this  morning — did  I  not  ? 

"  'Oui,  Monsieur,  oui — de  «  Pigeon's  Head.' 


195 

"  No,  Ba'tiste,  the  '  Pigeon's  Egg  Head.' 

"  '  Well  den,  Monsieur  Cataline,  de  '  Pigeon  Egg's  Head.' 

"  No,  Ba'tiste,  you  have  it  wrong  yet.     The  Pigeon's  Egg  Head. 

"  '  Sacre — well,  '  Pee — -jonse — ec — head.' 

"  Right,  Ba'tiste.  Now  you  shall  hear  the '  Story  of  the  Pigeon's  Egg  Head.' 

"  The  Indian  name  of  this  man  (being  its  literal  translation  into  the  As- 
sinneboin  language)  was  Wi-jun-jon. 

"  '  Wat !  comment !  by  Gar  (pardon) ;  not  Wi-jun-jon,  le  frere  de  ma 
douce  Wee-ne-on-ka,  fils  du  chef  Assinneboin  ?  But  excusez  ;  go  on,  s'il 
vous  plait.' 

"  Wi-jun-jon  (the  Pigeon's  Egg  Head)  was  a  brave  and  a  warrior  of  the 
Assinneboins — young — proud — handsome — valiant,  and  graceful.  He  had 
fought  many  a  battle,  and  won  many  a  laurel.  The  numerous  scalps  from 
his  enemies'  heads  adorned  his  dress,  and  his  claims  were  fair  and  just  for 
the  highest  honours  that  his  country  could  bestow  upon  him ;  for  his  father 
was  chief  of  the  nation. 

"  Le  meme !  de  same — mon  frere — mon  ami !  Bien,  I  am  compose  ;  go 
on,  Monsieur.' 

"Well,  this  young  Assinneboin,  the  '  Pigeon's  Egg  Head,'  was  selected 
by  Major  Sanford,  the  Indian  Agent,  to  represent  his  tribe  in  a  delegation 
which  visited  Washington  city  under  his  charge  in  the  winter  of  1832. 
With  this  gentleman,  the  Assinneboin,  together  with  representatives  from 
several  others  of  those  North  Western  tribes,  descended  the  Missouri  river, 
several  thousand  miles,  on  their  way  to  Washington. 

"  While  descending  the  river  in  a  Mackinaw  boat,  from  the  mouth  of 
Yellow  Stone,  Wi-jun-jon  and  another  of  his  tribe  who  was  with  him,  at  the 
first  approach  to  the  civilized  settlements,  commenced  a  register  of  the  white 
men's  houses  (or  cabins),  by  cutting  a  notch  for  each  on  the  side  of  a  pipe- 
stem,  in  order  to  be  able  to  shew  when  they  got  home,  how- many  white 
men's  houses  they  saw  on  their  journey.  At  first  the  cabins  were  scarce  ; 
but  continually  as  they  advanced  down  the  river,  more  and  more  rapidly  in 
creased  in  numbers ;  and  they  soon  found  their  pipe-stem  filled  with  marks, 
and  they  determined  to  put  the  rest  of  them  on  the  handle  of  a  war-club, 
which  they  soon  got  marked  all  over  likewise  ;  and  at  length,  while  the  boat 
was  moored  at  the  shore  for  the  purpose  of  cooking  the  dinner  of  the  party, 
Wi-jun-jon  and  his  companion  stepped  into  the  bushes,  and  cut  a  long  stick, 
from  which  they  peeled  the  bark  ;  and  when  the  boat  was  again  underweigh, 
they  sat  down,  and  with  much  labour,  copied  the  notches  on  to  it  from  the 
pipe-stem  and  club  ;  and  also  kept  adding  a  notch  for  every  house  they 
passed.  This  stick  was  soon  filled  ;  and  in  a  day  or  two  several  others ; 
when,  at  last,  they  seemed  much  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  do  with  their 
troublesome  records,  until  they  came  in  sight  of  St.  Louis,  which  is  a  town 
of  15,000  inhabitants;  upon  which,  after  consulting  a  little,  they  pitched 
their  sticks  overboard  into  the  river  ! 

c  c  2 


196 

"  I  was  in  St.  Louis  at  the  time  of  their  arrival,  and  painted  their  portraits 
while  they  rested  in  that  place.  Wi-jun-jon  was  the  first,  who  reluctantly 
yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  the  Indian  agent  and  myself,  and  appeared  as 
sullen  as  death  in  my  painting-room — with  eyes  fixed  like  those  of  a  statue, 
upon  me,  though  his  pride  had  plumed  and  tinted  him  in  all  the  freshness 
and  brilliancy  of  an  Indian's  toilet.  In  his  nature's  uncowering  pride  he 
stood  a  perfect  model ;  but  superstition  had  hung  a  lingering  curve  upon 
his  lip,  and  pride  had  stiffened  it  into  contempt.  He  had  been  urged  into 
a  measure,  against  which  his  fears  had  pleaded  ;  yet  he  stood  unmoved  and 
unflinching  amid  the  struggles  of  mysteries  that  were  hovering  about  him, 
foreboding  ills  of  every  kind,  and  misfortunes  that  were  to  happen  to  him 
in  consequence  of  this  operation. 

'*  He  was  dressed  in  his  native  costume,  which  was  classic  and  exceed 
ingly  beautiful  (PLATE  271)  ;  his  leggings  and  shirt  were  of  the  mountain- 
goat  skin,  richly  garnished  with  quills  of  the  porcupine,  and  fringed  with 
locks  of  scalps,  taken  from  his  enemies'  heads.  Over  these  floated  his  long 
hair  in  plaits,  that  fell  nearly  to  the  ground  ;  his  head  was  decked  with  the 
war-eagle's  plumes — his  robe  was  of  the  skin  of  the  young  buffalo  bull, 
richly  garnished  and  emblazoned  with  the  battles  of  his  life  ;  his  quiver  and 
bow  were  slung,  and  his  shield,  of  the  skin  of  the  bull's  neck. 

"  I  painted  him  in  this  beautiful  dress,  and  so  also  the  others  who  were 
with  him ;  and  after  I  had  done,  Major  Sanford  went  on  to  Washington 
with  them,  where  they  spent  the  winter. 

"  Wi-jun-jon  was  the  foremost  on  all  occasions — the  first  to  enter  the 
levee — the  first  to  shake  the  President's  hand,  and  make  his  speech  to  him — 
the  last  to  extend  the  hand  to  them,  but  the  first  to  catch  the  smiles  and 
admiration  of  the  gentler  sex.  He  travelled  the  giddy  maze,  and  beheld 
amid  the  buzzing  din  of  civil  life,  their  tricks  of  art,  their  handiworks,  and 
their  finery ;  he  visited  their  principal  cities — he  saw  their  forts,  their  ships, 
their  great  guns,  steamboats,  balloons,  &c.  &c. ;  and  in  the  spring  returned 
to  St.  Louis,  where  I  joined  him  and  his  companions  on  their  way  back  to 
their  own  country. 

"  Through  the  politeness  of  Mr.  Chouteau,  of  the  American  Fur  Company, 
I  was  admitted  (the  only  passenger  except  Major  Sanford  and  his  Indians) 
to  a  passage  in  their  steamboat,  on  her  first  trip  to  the  Yellow  Stone;  and 
when  I  had  embarked,  and  the  boat  was  about  to  depart,  Wi-jun-jon  made 
his  appearance  on  deck,  in  a  full  suit  of  regimentals  !  He  had  in  Washing 
ton  exchanged  his  beautifully  garnished  and  classic  costume,  for  a  full  dress 
'en  militaire'  (see  PLATE  272).  It  was,  perhaps,  presented  to  him  by  the 
President.  It  was  broadcloth,  of  the  finest  blue,  trimmed  with  lace  of  gold ; 
on  his  shoulders  were  mounted  two  immense  epaulettes;  his  neck  was  stran 
gled  with  a  shining  black  stock,  and  his  feet  were  pinioned  in  a  pair  of  water 
proof  boots,  with  high  heels,  which  made  him  '  step  like  a  yoked  hog.' 


272 


XytrtiC'sc 


197 

"  '  Ha-ha-hagh  (pardon,  Monsieur  Cal  aline,  for  I  am  almost  laugh) — well, 
he  was  a  fine  genteman,  ha  ?' 

"  On  his  head  was  a  high-crowned  beaver  hat,  with  a  broad  silver  lace 
band,  surmounted  by  a  huge  red  feather,  some  two  feet  high  ;  his  coat 
collar  stiff  with  lace,  came  higher  up  than  his  ears,  and  over  it  flowed,  down 
towards  his  haunches — his  long  Indian  locks,  stuck  up  in  rolls  and  plaits, 
with  red  paint. 

"  '  Ha-ha-hagh-agh-ah.' 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  Ba'tiste. 

"  « Well,  go  on — go  on.' 

" «  A  large  silver  medal  was  suspended  from  his  neck  by  a  blue  ribbon — 
and  across  his  right  shoulder  passed  a  wide  belt,  supporting  by  his  side  a 
broad  sword. 

" '  Diable !' 

"  On  his  hands  he  had  drawn  a  pair  of  white  kid  gloves,  and  in  them  held, 
a  blue  umbrella  in  one,  and  a  large  fan  in  the  other.  In  this  fashion  was 
poor  Wi-jun-jon  metamorphosed,  on  his  return  from  Washington  ;  and,  in 
this  plight  was  he  strutting  and  whistling  Yankee  Doodle,  about  the  deck  of 
the  steamer  that  was  wending  its  way  up  the  mighty  Missouri,  and  taking 
him  to  his  native  land  again  ;  where  he  was  soon  to  light  his  pipe,  and 
cheer  the  wigwam  fire-side,  with  tales  of  novelty  and  wonder. 

"  Well,  Ba'tiste,  I  travelled  with  this  new-fangled  gentleman  until  he 
reached  his  home,  two  thousand  miles  above  St.  Louis,  and  I  could  never 
look  upon  him  for  a  moment  without  excessive  laughter,  at  the  ridiculous 
figure  he  cut — the  strides,  the  angles,  the  stiffness  of  this  travelling  beau  ! 
Oh  Ba'tiste,  if  you  could  have  seen  him,  you  would  have  split  your  sides 
with  laughter  ;  he  was — '  puss  in  boots,'  precisely  ! 

"  '  By  gar,  he  is  good  compare  !  Ha-ha,  Monsieur  :  (pardon)  I  am  laugh  : 
I  am  see  him  wen  he  is  arrive  in  Yellow  Stone  ;  you  know  I  was  dere.  I 
am  laugh  much  wen  he  is  got  off  de  boat,  and  all  de  Assinneboins  was 
dere  to  look.  Oh  diable  !  I  am  laugh  almost  to  die,  I  am  split ! — suppose 
he  was  pretty  stiff,  ha  ? — '  cob  on  spindle,'  ha  ?  Oh,  by  gar,  he  is  coot  pour 
laugh — pour  rire  ?' 

"  After  Wi-jun-jon  had  got  home,  and  passed  the  usual  salutations  among 
his  friends,  he  commenced  the  simple  narration  of  scenes  he  had  passed 
through,  and  of  things  he  had  beheld  among  the  whites  ;  which  appeared  to 
them  so  much  like  fiction,  that  it  was  impossible  to  believe  them,  and  they 
set  him  down  as  an  impostor.  '  He  has  been,  (they  said,)  among  the  whites, 
who  are  great  liars,  and  all  he  has  learned  is  to  come  home  and  tell  lies.' 
He  sank  rapidly  into  disgrace  in  his  tribe  ;  his  high  claims  to  political  emi 
nence  all  vanished  ;  he  was  reputed  worthless — the  greatest  liar  of  his  nation  ; 
the  chiefs  shunned  him  and  passed  him  by  as  one  of  the  tribe  who  was  lost ; 
yet  the  ears  of  the  gossipping  portion  of  the  tribe  were  open,  and  the  camp- 


198 

fire  circle  and  the  wigwam  fireside,  gave  silent  audience  to  the  whispered 
narratives  of  the  '  travelled  Indian.'  *  *  * 

"  The  next  day  after  he  had  arrived  among  his  friends,  the  superfluous 
part  of  his  coat,  (which  was  a  laced  frock),  was  converted  into  a  pair  of  leg 
gings  for  his  wife ;  and  his  hat-band  of  silver  lace  furnished  her  a  magnificent 
pair  of  garters.  The  remainder  of  the  coat,  curtailed  of  its  original  length, 
was  seen  buttoned  upon  the  shoulders  of  his  brother,  over  and  above  a  pair 
of  leggings  of  buckskin  ;  and  Wi-jun-jon  was  parading  about  among  his 
gaping  friends,  with  a  bow  and  quiver  slung  over  his  shoulders,  which,  sans 
coat,  exhibited  a  fine  linen  shirt  with  studs  and  sleeve  buttons.  His  broad 
sword  kept  its  place,  but  about  noon,  his  boots  gave  way  to  a  pair  of  gar 
nished  moccasins  ;  and  in  such  plight  he  gossipped  away  the  day  among  his 
friends,  while  his  heart  spoke  so  freely  and  so  effectually  from  the  bung-hole 
of  a  little  keg  of  whiskey,  which  he  had  brought  the  whole  way,  (as  one  of 
the  choicest  presents  made  him  at  Washington),  that  his  tongue  became 
silent. 

"  One  of  his  little  fair  enamoratas,  or  '  catch  crumbs,'  such  as  live  in  the 
halo  of  all  great  men,  fixed  her  eyes  and  her  affections  upon  his  beautiful 
silk  braces,  and  the  next  day,  while  the  keg  was  yet  dealing  out  its 
kindnesses,  he  was  seen  paying  visits  to  the  lodges  of  his  old  acquain 
tance,  swaggering  about,  with  his  keg  under  his  arm,  whistling  Yankee 
Doodle,  and  Washington's  Grand  March  ;  his  white  shirt,  or  that  part  of  it 
that  had  been  popping  in  the  wind,  had  been  shockingly  tithed — his  panta 
loons  of  blue,  laced  with  gold,  were  razed  into  a  pair  of  comfortable  leggings 
— his  bow  and  quiver  were  slung,  and  his  broad-sword  which  trailed  on  the 
ground,  had  sought  the  centre  of  gravity,  and  taken  a  position  between  his 
legs,  and  dragging  behind  him,  served  as  a  rudder  to  steer  him  over  the 
'  earth's  troubled  surface.' 

"  '  Ha-hah-hagh ah o oo k,  eh  bien.' 

"  Two  days'  revel  of  this  kind,  had  drawn  from  his  keg  all  its  charms  ;  and 
in  the  mellowness  of  his  heart,  all  his  finery  had  vanished,  and  all  of  its  appen 
dages,  except  his  umbrella,  to  which  his  heart's  strongest  affections  still  clung, 
and  with  it,  and  under  it,  in  rude  dress  of  buckskin,  he  was  afterwards  to  be 
seen,  in  all  sorts  of  weather,  acting  the  fop  and  the  beau  as  well  as  he  could, 
with  his  limited  means.  In  this  plight,  and  in  this  dress,  with  his  umbrella 
always  in  his  hand,  (as  the  only  remaining  evidence  of  his  quondam  great 
ness,)  he  began  in  his  sober  moments,  to  entertain  and  instruct  his  people, 
by  honest  and  simple  narratives  of  things  and  scenes  he  had  beheld  during 
his  tour  to  the  East ;  but  which  (unfortunately  for  him),  were  to  them  too 
marvellous  and  improbable  to  be  believed.  He  told  the  gaping  multitude, 
that  were  constantly  gathering  about  him,  of  the  distance  he  had  travelled — 
of  the  astonishing  number  of  houses  he  had  seen — of  the  towns  and  cities, 
with  all  their  wealth  and  splendour — of  travelling  on  steamboats,  in  stages, 
and  on  railroads.  He  described  our  forts,  and  seventy-four  gun  ships,  which 


199 

he  had  visited — their  big  guns— our  great  bridges— our  great  council-house 
at  Washington,  and  its  doings — the  curious  and  wonderful  machines  in  the 
patent  office,  (which  he  pronounced  the  greatest  medicine  place  he  had  seen) ; 
he  described  the  great  war  parade,  which  he  saw  in  the  city  of  New  York — the 
ascent  of  the  balloon  from  Castle  Garden — the  numbers  of  the  white  people, 
the  beauty  of  the  white  squaws  ;  their  red  cheeks,  and  many  thousands  of 
other  things,  all  of  which  were  so  much  beyond  their  comprehension,  that 
they  '  could  not  be  true,'  and  '  he  must  be  the  very  greatest  liar  in  the  whole 
world.'* 

"  But  he  was  beginning  to  acquire  a  reputation  of  a  different  kind.  He 
was  denominated  a  medicine-man,  and  one  too  of  the  most  extraordinary 
character ;  for  they  deemed  him  far  above  the  ordinary  sort  of  human  beings, 
whose  mind  could  invent  and  conjure  up  for  their  amusement,  such  an  inge 
nious  fabrication  of  novelty  and  wonder.  He  steadily  and  unostentatiously 
persisted,  however,  in  this  way  of  entertaining  his  friends  and  his  people, 
though  he  knew  his  standing  was  affected  by  it.  He  had  an  exhaustless 
theme  to  descant  upon  through  the  remainder  of  his  life ;  and  he  seemed 
satisfied  to  lecture  all  his  life,  for  the  pleasure  which  it  gave  him. 

"  So  great  was  his  medicine,  however,  that  they  began,  chiefs  and  all,  to 
look  upon  him  as  a  most  extraordinary  being,  and  the  customary  honours  and 
forms  began  to  be  applied  to  him,  and  the  respect  shewn  him,  that  belongs 
to  all  men  in  the  Indian  country,  who  are  distinguished  for  their  medicine 
or  mysteries.     In  short,  when  all  became  familiar  with  the  astonishing  repre 
sentations  that  he  made,  and  with  the  wonderful  alacrity  with  which   *  he 
created  them,'  he  was  denominated  the  very  greatest  of  medicine  ;  and  not 
only  that,  but  the  '  lying  medicine.'     That  he  should  be  the  greatest  of  me 
dicine,  and  that  for  lying,  merely,  rendered  him  a  prodigy  in  mysteries  that 
commanded  not  only  respect,  but  at  length,  (when  he  was  more  maturely 
heard  and  listened  to)  admiration,  awe,  and  at  last  dread  and  terror;  which 
altogether  must  needs  conspire  to  rid  the  world  of  a  monster,  whose  more 
than  human  talents  must  be  cut  down,  to  less  than  human  measurement. 
"  '  Wat !  Monsieur  Cataline,  dey  av  not  try  to  kill  him  ?' 
"  Yes,  Ba'tiste,  in  this  way  the  poor  fellow  had  lived,  and  been  for  three 
years  past  continually  relating  the  scenes  he  had  beheld,  in  his  tour  to  the 
*  Far  East ;'  until  his  medicine  became  so  alarmingly  great,  that  they  were 
unwilling  he  should  live  ;  they  were  disposed  to  kill  him  for  a  wizard.     One 
of  the  young  men  of  the  tribe  took  the  duty  upon  himself,  and  after  much 
perplexity,  hit  upon  the  following  plan,  to-wit : — he  had  fully  resolved,  in 
conjunction  with  others  who  were  in  the  conspiracy,  that  the  medicine  of 
Wi-jun-jon  was  too  great  for  the  ordinary  mode,  and  that  he  was  so  great  a 
liar  that  a  rifle  bullet  would  not  kill  him  ;  while  the  young  man  was  in  this 

*  Most  unfortunately  for  this  poor  fellow,  the  other  one  of  his  tribe,  who  travelled  with 
him,  and  could  have  borne  testimony  to  the  truth  of  his  statements,  died  of  the  quinsey  on 
his  way  home. 


200 

distressing  dilemma,  which  lasted  for  some  weeks,  he  had  a  dream  one  night, 
which  solved  all  difficulties  ;  and  in  consequence  of  which,  he  loitered  about 
the  store  in  the  Fort,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone,  until  he  could  pro 
cure,  by  stealth,  (according  to  the  injunction  of  his  dream,)  the  handle  of  an 
iron  pot,  which  he  supposed  to  possess  the  requisite  virtue,  and  taking  it  into 
the  woods,  he  there  spent  a  whole  day  in  straightening  and  filing  it,  to  fit  it 
into  the  barrel  of  his  gun  ;  after  which,  he  made  his  appearance  again  in  the 
Fort,  with  his  gun  under  his  robe,  charged  with  the  pot  handle,  and  getting 
behind  poor  Wi-jun-jon,  whilst  he  was  talking  with  the  Trader,  placed  the 
muzzle  behind  his  head  and  blew  out  his  brains  ! 

"  '  Sacre  vengeance  !  oh,  mon  Dieu  !  let  me  cry — 1  shall  cry  always,  for 
evare — Oh  he  is  not  true,  1  hope  ?  no,  Monsieur,  no !' 

"  Yes,  Ba'tiste,  it  is  a  fact :  thus  ended  the  days  and  the  greatness,  and 
all  the  pride  and  hopes  of  WI-JUN-JON,  the  *  Pigeon's  Egg  Head,' — a  war 
rior  and  a  brave  of  the  valiant  Assinneboins,  who  travelled  eight  thousand 
miles  to  see  the  President,  and  all  the  great  cities  of  the  civilized  world  ;  and 
who,  for  telling  the  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  was,  after  he  got  home, 
disgraced  and  killed  for  a  wizard. 

"  '  Oh,  Monsieur  Cataline — I  am  distress — I  am  sick — I  was  hope  he  is 
not  true — oh  I  am  mortify.  Wi-jun-jon  was  coot  Ingin — he  was  my  brud- 
dare— eh  bien — eh  bien.' 

"  Now,  my  friend  Ba'tiste,  I  see  you  are  distressed,  and  I  regret  exceed 
ingly  that  it  must  be  so ;  he  was  your  friend  and  relative,  and  I  myself  feel 
sad  at  the  poor  fellow's  unhappy  and  luckless  fate  ;  for  he  was  a  handsome, 
an  honest,  and  a  noble  Indian." 

"  '  C'est  vrais,  Monsieur,  c'est  vrai.' 

"  This  man's  death,  Ba'tiste,  has  been  a  loss  to  himself,  to  his  friends,  and 
to  the  world  .  but  you  and  I  may  profit  by  it,  nevertheless,  if  we  bear  it  in 
mind 

"  '  Oui!  yes,  Monsr.  mais,  suppose,  'tis  bad  wind  dat  blows  nary  way,  ha?' 

"  Yes,  Ba'tiste,  we  may  profit  by  his  misfortune,  if  we  choose.  We  may 
call  it  a  '  caution ;'  for  instance,  when  I  come  to  write  your  book,  as  you 
have  proposed,  the  fate  of  this  poor  fellow,  who  was  relating  no  more  than 
what  he  actually  saw,  will  caution  you  against  the  imprudence  of  telling  all 
that  you  actually  know,  and  narrating  all  that  you  have  seen,  lest  like  him 
you  sink  into  disgrace  for  telling  the  truth.  You  know,  Ba'tiste,  that  there 
are  many  things  to  be  seen  in  the  kind  of  life  that  you  and  I  have  been  living 
for  some  years  past,  which  it  would  be  more  prudent  for  us  to  suppress  than 
to  tell. 

'  Oui,  Monsieur.     Well,  suppose,  perhaps  1  am  discourage  about  de 
book.     Mais,  we  shall  see,  ha  ?'  " 

Thus  ended  the  last  night's  gossip,'  and  in  the  cool  of  this  morning,  we  bid 
adieu  to  the  quiet  and  stillness  of  this  wild  place,  of  which  I  have  resolved  to 
give  a  little  further  account  before  we  take  leave  of  it. 


201 

From  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  my  delightful  companion  (Mr.  Wood,  whom 
I  have  before  mentioned)  and  myself,  with  our  Indian  guide,  whose  name  was 
O-kup-pee,  tracing  the  beautiful  shores  of  the  St.  Peters  river,  about  eighty 
miles  ;  crossing  it  at  a  place  called  "  Traverse  dcs  Sioux,"  and  recrossing  it 
at  another  point  about  thirty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  "  Tcrre  Bleue," 
from  whence  Ave  steered  in  a  direction  a  little  North  of  West  for  the  "  Coteau 
des  Prairies,"  leaving  the  St.  Peters  river,  and  crossing  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  prairie  countries  in  the  world,  for  the  distance  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  or  thirty  miles,  which  brought  us  to  the  base  of  the  Coteau, 
where  we  were  joined  by  our  kind  and  esteemed  companion  Monsieur 
La  Fromboise,  as  I  have  before  related.  This  tract  of  country  as  well 
as  that  along  the  St.  Peters  river,  is  mostly  covered  with  the  richest  soil, 
and  furnishes  an  abundance  of  good  water,  which  flows  from  a  thou 
sand  living  springs.  For  many  miles  we  had  the  Coteau  in  view  in  the 
distance  before  us,  which  looked  like  a  blue  cloud  settling  down  in  the 
horizon  ;  and  we  were  scarcely  sensible  of  the  fact,  when  we  had  arrived 
at  its  base,  from  the  graceful  and  almost  imperceptible  swells  with  which  it 
commences  its  elevation  above  the  country  around  it.  Over  these  swells  or 
terraces,  gently  rising  one  above  the  other,  we  travelled  for  the  distance  of 
forty  or  fifty  miles,  when  we  at  length  reached  the  summit ;  and  from  the 
base  of  this  mound,  to  its  top,  a  distance  of  forty  or  fifty  miles,  there 
was  not  a  tree  or  bush  to  be  seen  in  any  direction,  and  the  ground  every 
where  was  covered  with  a  green  turf  of  grass,  about  five  or  six  inches  high;  and 
we  were  assured  by  our  Indian  guide,  that  it  descended  to  the  West,  towards 
the  Missouri,  with  a  similar  inclination,  and  for  an  equal  distance,  divested 
of  every  thing  save  the  grass  that  grows,  and  the  animals  that  walk  upon  it. 
On  the  very  top  of  this  mound  or  ridge,  we  found  the  far-famed  quarry  or 
fountain  of  the  Red  Pipe,  which  is  truly  an  anomaly  in  nature  (PLATE  270). 
The  principal  and  most  striking  feature  of  this  place,  is  a  perpendicular  wall 
of  close-grained,  compact  quartz,  of  twenty-five  and  thirty  feet  in  elevation, 
running  nearly  North  and  South  with  its  face  to  the  West,  exhibiting  a  front 
of  nearly  two  miles  in  length,  when  it  disappears  at  both  ends  by  running 
under  the  prairie,  which  becomes  there  a  little  more  elevated,  and  probably 
covers  it  for  many  miles,  both  to  the  North  and  the  South.  The  depres 
sion  of  the  brow  of  the  ridge  at  this  place  has  been  caused  by  the  wash 
of  a  little  stream,  produced  by  several  springs  on  the  top,  a  little  back 
from  the  wall ;  which  has  gradually  carried  away  the  super-incumbent  earth, 
and  having  bared  the  wall  for  the  distance  of  two  miles,  is  now  left  to  glide 
for  some  distance  over  a  perfectly  level  surface  of  quartz  rock  ;  and  then  to 
leap  from  the  top  of  the  wall  into  a  deep  basin  below,  and  from  thence  seek 
its  course  to  the  Missouri,  forming  the  extreme  source  of  a  noted  and  power 
ful  tributary,  called  the  "  Big  Sioux." 

This  beautiful  wall  is  horizontal,  and  stratified  in  several  distinct  layers 
of  light  grey,  and  rose  or  flesh-coloured  quartz;  and  for  most  of  the 

VOL.  n.  D   D 


202 

way,  both  on  the  front  of  the  wall,  and  for  acres  of  its  horizontal  surface, 
highly  polished  or  glazed,  as  if  by  ignition. 

At  the  base  of  this  wall  there  is  a  level  prairie,  of  half  a  mile  in  width, 
running  parallel  to  it ;  in  any  and  all  parts  of  which,  the  Indians  pro 
cure  the  red  stone  for  their  pipes,  by  digging  through  the  soil  and  several 
slaty  layers  of  the  red  stone,  to  the  depth  of  four  or  five  feet.*  From  the 
very  numerous  marks  of  ancient  and  modern  diggings  or  excavations,  it 
would  appear  that  this  place  has  been  for  many  centuries  resorted  to  for  the 
red  stone ;  and  from  the  great  number  of  graves  and  remains  of  ancient 
fortifications  in  its  vicinity,  it  would  seem,  as  well  as  from  their  actual  tradi 
tions,  that  the  Indian  tribes  have  long  held  this  place  in  high  superstitious 
estimation  ;  and  also  that  it  has  been  the  resort  of  different  tribes,  who  have 
made  their  regular  pilgrimages  here  to  renew  their  pipes. 

The  red  pipe  stone,  I  consider,  will  take  its  place  amongst  minerals,  as 
an  interesting  subject  of  itself;  and  the  "  Coteau  des  Prairies"  will  become 
hereafter  an  important  theme  for  geologists ;  not  only  from  the  fact  that 
this  is  the  only  known  locality  of  that  mineral,  but  from  other  phenomena 
relating  to  it.  The  single  fact  of  such  a  table  of  quartz,  in  horizontal 
strata,  resting  on  this  elevated  plateau,  is  of  itself  (in  my  opinion)  a  very 
interesting  subject  for  investigation ;  and  one  which  calls  upon  the  scien 
tific  world  for  a  correct  theory  with  regard  to  the  time  when,  and  the 
manner  in  which,  this  formation  was  produced.  That  it  is  of  a  secondary 
character,  and  of  a  sedimentary  deposit,  seems  evident;  and  that  it  has 
withstood  the  force  of  the  diluvial  current,  while  the  great  valley  of  the  Mis 
souri,  from  this  very  wall  of  rocks  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  has  been  ex 
cavated,  and  its  debris  carried  to  the  ocean,  there  is  also  not  a  shadow  of 
doubt ;  which  opinion  I  confidently  advance  on  the  authority  of  the  following 
remarkable  facts : 

At  the  base  of  the  wall,  and  within  a  few  rods  of  it,  and  on  the  very 
ground  where  the  Indians  dig  for  the  red  stone,  rests  a  group  of  five  stupen 
dous  boulders  of  gneiss,  leaning  against  each  other  ;  the  smallest  of  which  is 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  and  the  largest  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter,  altogether 
weighing,  unquestionably,  several  hundred  tons.  These  blocks  are  com 
posed  chiefly  of  felspar  and  mica,  of  an  exceedingly  coarse  grain  (the  felspar 
often  occurring  in  crystals  of  an  inch  in  diameter).  The  surface  of  these 
boulders  is  in  every  part  covered  with  a  grey  moss,  which  gives  them  an  ex 
tremely  ancient  and  venerable  appearance,  and  their  sides  and  angles  are 
rounded  by  attrition,  to  the  shape  and  character  of  most  other  erratic  stones, 
which  are  found  throughout  the  country.  It  is  under  these  blocks  that  the 
two  holes,  or  ovens  are  seen,  in  which,  according  to  the  Indian  superstition, 

From  the  very  many  excavations  recently  and  anciently  made,  I  could  discover  that 
these  layers  varied  very  much,  in  their  thickness  in  different  parts  ;  and  that  in  some  places 
they  were  overlaid  with  four  or  five  feet  of  rock,  similar  to,  and  in  fact  a  part  of,  the  lower 
stratum  of  the  wall. 


203 

the  two  old  women,  the  guardian  spirits  of  the  place,  reside ;  of  whom  I 
have  before  spoken. 

That  these  five  immense  blocks,  of  precisely  the  same  character,  and  differ 
ing  materially  from  all  other  specimens  of  boulders  which  I  have  seen  in  the 
great  vallies  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  should  have  been  hurled  some 
hundreds  of  miles  from  their  native  bed,  and  lodged  in  so  singular  a  group  on 
this  elevated  ridge,  is  truly  matter  of  surprise  for  the  scientific  world,  as  well 
as  for  the  poor  Indian,  whose  superstitious  veneration  of  them  is  such,  that 
not  a  spear  of  grass  is  broken  or  bent  by  his  feet,  within  three  or  four  rods  of 
them,  where  he  stops,  and  in  humble  supplication,  by  throwing  plugs  of  to 
bacco  to  them,  solicits  permission  to  dig  and  carry  away  the  red  stone  for 
his  pipes.  The  surface  of  these  boulders  are  in  every  part  entire  and 
unscratched  by  anything  ;  wearing  the  moss  everywhere  unbroken,  except 
where  I  applied  the  hammer,  to  obtain  some  small  specimens,  which  I  shall 
bring  away  with  me.  • 

The  fact  alone,  that  these  blocks  differ  in  character  from  all  other  speci 
mens  which  I  have  seen  in  my  travels,  amongst  the  thousands  of  boulders 
which  are  strewed  over  the  great  valley  of  the  Missouri  and  Mississippi,  from 
the  Yellow  Stone  almost  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  raises  in  my  mind  an  un 
answerable  question,  as  regards  the  location  of  their  native  bed,  and  the 
means  by  which  they  have  reached  their  isolated  position  ;  like  five  brothers, 
leaning  against  and  supporting  each  other,  without  the  existence  of  another 
boulder  within  many  miles  of  them.  There  are  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  boulders  scattered  over  the  prairies,  at  the  base  of  the  C6teau, 
on  either  side ;  and  so  throughout  the  valley  of  the  St.  Peters  and  Missis 
sippi,  which  are  also  subjects  of  very  great  interest  and  importance  to 
science,  inasmuch  as  they  present  to  the  world,  a  vast  variety  of  characters ; 
and  each  one,  though  strayed  away  from  its  original  position,  bears  in- 
contestible  proof  of  the  character  of  its  native  bed.  The  tract  of  country 
lying  between  the  St.  Peters  river  and  the  C6teau,  over  which  we  passed, 
presents  innumerable  specimens  of  this  kind ;  and  near  the  base  of  the 
Coteau  they  are  strewed  over  the  prairie  in  countless  numbers,  presenting 
almost  an  incredible  variety  of  rich,  and  beautiful  colours ;  and  undoubtedly 
traceable,  (if  they  can  be  traced),  to  separate  and  distinct  beds. 

Amongst  these  beautiful  groups,  it  was  sometimes  a  very  easy  matter  to 
sit  on  my  horse  and  count  within  my  sight,  some  twenty  or  thirty  different 
varieties,  of  quartz  and  granite,  in  rounded  boulders,  of  every  hue  and  colour, 
from  snow  white  to  intense  red,  and  yellow,  and  blue,  and  almost  to  a  jet 
black ;  each  one  well  characterized  and  evidently  from  a  distinct  quarry. 
With  the  beautiful  hues  and  almost  endless  characters  of  these  blocks,  I  be 
came  completely  surprised  and  charmed  ;  and  I  resolved  to  procure  speci 
mens  of  every  variety,  which  I  did  with  success,  by  dismounting  from  my 
horse,  and  breaking  small  bits  fiom  them  with  my  hammer  ;  until  I  had  some 
thing  like  an  hundred  different  varieties,  containing  all  the  tints  and  colours 

D  D  2 


204 

of  a  painter's  palette.  These,  I  at  length  threw  away,  as  I  had  on  several 
former  occasions,  other  minerals  and  fossils,  which  I  had  collected  and  lugged 
alone,'  from  day  to  day,  and  sometimes  from  week  to  week. 

Whether  these  varieties  of  quartz  and  granite  can  all  be  traced  to  their 
native  beds,  or  whether  they  all  have  origins  at  this  time  exposed  above  the 
earth's  surface,  are  equally  matters  of  much  doubt  in  my  mind.  I  believe 
that  the  geologist  may  take  the  different  varieties,  which  he  may  gather  at 
the  base  of  the  C6teau  in  one  hour,  and  travel  the  Continent  of  North  Ame 
rica  all  over  without  being  enabled  to  put  them  all  in  place ;  coming  at  last 
to  the  unavoidable  conclusion,  that  numerous  chains  or  beds  of  primitive 
rocks  have  reared  their  heads  on  this  Continent,  the  summits  of  which  have 
been  swept  away  by  the  force  of  diluvial  currents,  and  their  fragments 
jostled  together  and  strewed  aboift,  like  foreigners  in  a  strange  land,  over  the 
great  vallies  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  where  they  will  ever  remain, 
and  be  gazed  upon  by  the  traveller,  as  the  only  remaining  evidence  of  their 
native  beds,  which  have  again  submerged  or  been  covered  with  diluvial 
deposits. 

There  seems  not  to  be,  either  on  the-Coteau  or  in  the  great  vallies  on  either 
side,  so  far  as  I  have  travelled,  any  slaty  or  other  formation  exposed  above 
the  surface  on  which  grooves  or  scratches  can  be  seen,  to  establish  the  direc 
tion  of  the  diluvial  currents  in  those  regions  ;  yet  I  think  the  fact  is  pretty 
clearly  established  by  the  general  shapes  of  the  vallies,  and  the  courses  of 
the  mountain  ridges  which  wall  them  in  on  their  sides. 

The  Coteau  des  Prairies  is  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  St.  Peters  and 
Missouri  rivers  ;  its  southern  termination  or  slope  is  about  in  the  latitude  of 
the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  and  it  stands  equi-distant  between  the  two  rivers  ; 
its  general  course  bearing  two  or  three  degrees  West  of  North  for  the  distance 
of  two  or  three  hundred  miles,  when  it  gradually  slopes  again  to  the  North, 
throwing  out  from  its  base  the  head-waters  and  tributaries  of  the  St.  Peters, 
on  the  East.  The  Red  River,  and  other  streams,  which  empty  into  Hudson's 
Bay,  on  the  North  ;  La  Riviere  Jaque  and  several  other  tributaries  to  the 
Missouri,  on  the  West ;  and  the  Red  Cedar,  the  loway  and  the  Des  Moines, 
on  the  South. 

This  wonderful  feature,  which  is  several  hundred  miles  in  length,  and 
varying  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  in  width,  is,  perhaps,  the  noblest  mound  of 
its  kind  in  the  world  ;  it  gradually  and  gracefully  rises  on  each  side,  by 
swell  after  swell,  without  tree,  or  bush  or  rock  (save  what  are  to  be  seen  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Pipe  Stone  Quarry),  and  everywhere  covered  with  green  grass, 
affording  the  traveller,  from  its  highest  elevations,  the  most  unbounded  and 

sublime  views  of nothing  at  all save  the  blue  and  boundless  ocean 

of  prairies  that  lie  beneath  and  all  around  him,  vanishing  into  azure  in 
the  distance  without  a  speck  or  spot  to  break  their  softness. 

The  direction  of  this  ridge,  I  consider,  pretty  clearly  establishes  the  course 
of  the  diluvial  current  in  this  region,  and  the  erratic  stones  which  are  dis- 


205 

tributed  along  its  base,  I  attribute  to  an  origin  several  hundred  miles  North 
West  from  the  Coteau.  I  have  not  myself  traced  the  Coteau  to  its  highest 
points,  nor  to  its  Northern  extremity  ;  but  it  has  been  a  subject,  on  which 
I  have  closely  questioned  a  number  of  traders,  who  have  traversed  every 
mile  of  it  with  their  carts,  and  from  thence  to  Lake  Winnepeg  on  the  North, 
who  uniformly  tell  me,  that  there  is  no  range  of  primitive  rocks  to  be  crossed 
in  travelling  the  whole  distance,  which  is  one  connected  and  continuous  prairie. 

The  top  and  sides  of  the  Coteau  are  everywhere  strewed  over  the  surface 
with  granitic  sand  and  pebbles,  which,  together  with  the  fact  of  the  five 
boulders  resting  at  the  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  shew  clearly  that  every  part  of 
the  ridge  has  been  subject  to  the  action  of  these  currents,  which  could  not 
have  run  counter  to  it,  without  having  disfigured  or  deranged  its  beautiful 
symmetry. 

The  glazed  or  polished  surface  of  the  quartz  rocks  at  the  Pipe  Stone 
Quarry,  I  consider  a  very  interesting  subject,  and  one  which  will  excite  here 
after  a  variety  of  theories,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  produced, 
and  the  causes  which  have  led  to  such  singular  results.  The  quartz  is  of  a 
close  grain,  and  exceedingly  hard,  eliciting  the  most  brilliant  spark  from 
steel ;  and  in  most  places,  where  exposed  to  the  sun  and  the  air,  has  a 
high  polish  on  its  surface,  entirely  beyond  any  results  which  could  have  been 
produced  by  diluvial  action,  being  perfectly  glazed  as  if  by  ignition.  I  was 
not  sufficiently  particular  in  my  examinations  to  ascertain  whether  any  parts 
of  the  surface  of  these  rocks  under  the  ground,  and  not  exposed  to  the  action 
of  the  air,  were  thus  affected,  which  would  afford  an  important  argument  in 
forming  a  correct  theory  with  regard  to  it ;  and  it  may  also  be  a  fact  of 
similar  importance,  that  this  polish  does  not  extend  over  the  whole  wall  or 
area ;  but  is  distributed  over  it  in  parts  and  sections,  often  disappearing 
suddenly,  and  reappearing  again,  even  where  the  character  and  exposure  of 
the  rock  is  the  same  and  unbroken.  In  general,  the  parts  and  points  most 
projecting  and  exposed,  bear  the  highest  polish,  which  would  naturally  be 
the  case  whether  it  was  produced  by  ignition,  or  by  the  action  of  the  air 
and  sun.  It  would  seem  almost  an  impossibility,  that  the  air  passing 
these  projections  for  a  series  of  centuries,  could  have  produced  so  high  a 
polish  on  so  hard  a  substance ;  and  it  seems  equally  unaccountable,  that 
this  effect  could  have  been  produced  in  the  other  way,  in  the  total  absence 
of  all  igneous  matter. 

I  have  broken  off  specimens  and  brought  them  home,  which  certainly  bear 
as  high  a  polish  and  lustre  on  the  surface,  as  a  piece  of  melted  glass  ;  and 
then  as  these  rocks  have  undoubtedly  been  formed  where  they  now  lie,  it  must 
be  admitted,  that  this  strange  effect  on  their  surface  has  been  produced  either 
by  the  action  of  the  air  and  sun,  or  by  igneous  influence  ;  and  if  by  the  latter 
course,  there  is  no  other  conclusion  we  can  come  to,  than  that  these  results 
are  volcanic  ;  that  this  wall  has  once  formed  the  sides  of  a  crater,  and  that 
the  Pipe  Stone,  laying  in  horizontal  strata,  is  formed  of  the  lava  which  has 


206 

issued  from  it.  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  believe,  however,  that  the  former 
supposition  is  the  correct  one ;  and  that  the  Pipe  Stone,  which  differs  from 
all  known  specimens  of  lava,  is  a  new  variety  of  steatite,  and  will  be  found 
to  be  a  subject  of  great  interest  and  one  worthy  of  a  careful  analysis.* 

With  such  notes  and  such  memorandums  on  this  shorn  land,  whose  quiet 
and  silence  are  only  broken  by  the  winds  and  the  thunders  of  Heaven,  I 
close  my  note-book,  and  we  this  morning  saddle  our  horses  ;  and  after 
wending  our  way  to  the  "  Thunders'  Nest"  and  the  "  Stone-man  Medicine," 
we  shall  descend  into  the  valley  of  the  St.  Peters,  and  from  that  to  the  re 
gions  of  civilization  ;  from  whence,  if  I  can  get  there,  you  will  hear  of  me 
again.  Adieu. 

*  In  Silliman's  American  Journal  of  Science,  Vol.  xxxvii.,  p.  394,  will  be  seen  the  fol 
lowing  analysis  of  this  mineral,  made  by  Dr.  Jackson  of  Boston,  one  of  our  best  minera 
logists  and  chemists ;  to  whom  I  sent  some  specimens  for  the  purpose,  and  who  pronounced 
it,  "a  new  mineral  compound,  not  steatite,  is  harder  than  gypsum,  and  softer  than  carbonate 
of  lime." 

Chemical  Analysis  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone,  brought  by  George  Catlin,  from  the  Cdteau  dea 
Prairies,  in  1836 : 

Water 8.4 

Silica      ...,.:     48.2 

Alumnia 28.2 

Magnesia   .     ,     .     .     .      6.0 

Carbonate  of  lime     .     .      2.6 

Peroxide  of  iron  .     .     .       5.0 

Oxide  of  mangan6se      .       0.6 

99.0 

Loss  (probably  magnesia)    1.0 
100.0 


NOTE. — All  the  varieties  of  this  beautiful  mineral,  may  at  all  times  be  seen  in  the 
INDIAN  MUSEUM  ;  and  by  the  curious,  specimens  may  be  obtained  for  any  further 
experiments. 


• 


• 

It 


'111 


207 


LETTER— No.  56. 


ROCK  ISLAND,  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI. 

IT  will  be  seen  by  this,  that  I  am  again  wending  my  way  towards  home. 
Our  neat  little  "  dug  out,"  by  the  aid  of  our  paddles,  has  at  length  brought 
my  travelling  companion  and  myself  in  safety  to  this  place,  where  we  found 
the  river,  the  shores,  and  the  plains  contiguous,  alive  and  vivid  with  plumes, 
with  spears,  and  war-clubs  of  the  yelling  red  men. 

We  had  heard  that  the  whole  nation  of  Sacs  and  Foxes  were  to  meet 
Governor  Dodge  here  in  treaty  at  this  time,  and  nerve  was  given  liberally 
to  our  paddles,  which  had  brought  us  from  Traverse  de  Sioux,  on  the  St. 
Peters  river ;  and  we  reached  here  luckily  in  time  to  see  the  parades  and 
forms  of  a  savage  community,  transferring  the  rights  and  immunities  of  their 
natural  soil,  to  the  insatiable  grasp  of  pale  faced  voracity. 

After  having  glutted  our  curiosity  at  the  fountain  of  the  Red  Pipe,  our 
horses  brought  us  to  the  base  of  the  Coteau,  and  then  over  the  extended 
plain  that  lies  between  that  and  the  Traverse  de  Sioux,  on  the  St.  Peters 
with  about  five  days'  travel. 

In  this  distance  we  passed  some  of  the  loveliest  prairie  country  in  the 
world,  and  I  made  a  number  of  sketches — "  Laque  du  Cygne,  Swan  Lake," 
(PLATE  276),  was  a  peculiar  and  lovely  scene,  extending  for  many  miles, 
and  filled  with  innumerable  small  islands  covered  with  a  profusion  of  rich 
forest  trees.  PLATE  277,  exhibits  the  Indian  mode  of  taking  muskrats, 
which  dwell  in  immense  numbers  in  these  northern  prairies,  and  build  their 
burrows  in  shoal  water,  of  the  stalks  of  the  wild  rice.  They  are  built  up 
something  of  the  size  and  form  of  haycocks,  having  a  dry  chamber  in  the 
top,  where  the  animal  sleeps  above  water,  passing  in  and  out  through  a 
hole  beneath  the  water's  surface.  The  skins  of  these  animals  are  sought 
by  the  Traders,  for  their  fur,  and  they  constitute  the  staple  of  all  these 
regions,  being  caught  in  immense  numbers  by  the  Indians,  and  vended  to 
the  Fur  Traders.  The  mode  of  taking  them  is  seen  in  the  drawing ;  the  women, 
children  and  dogs  attend  to  the  little  encampments,  while  the  men  wade 
to  their  houses  or  burrows,  and  one  strikes  on  the  backs  of  them,  as 
the  other  takes  the  inhabitants  in  a  rapid  manner  with  a  spear,  while  they 
are  escaping  from  them. 


208 

PLATE  278,  is  a  party  of  Sioux,  in  bark  canoes  (purchased  of  the  Chip- 
peways),  gathering  the  wild  rice,  which  grows  in  immense  fields  around  the 
shores  of  the  rivers  and  lakes  of  these  northern  regions,  and  used  by  the 
Indians  as  an  useful  article  of  food.  The  mode  of  gathering  it  is  curious, 
and  as  seen  in  the  drawing— one  woman  paddles  the  canoe,  whilst  another, 
with  a  stick  in  each  hand,  bends  the  rice  over  the  canoe  with  one,  and  strikes 
it  with  the  other,  which  shells  it  into  the  canoe,  which  is  constantly  moving 
along  until  it  is  filled. 

PLATE  279,  is  a  representation  of  one  of  the  many  lovely  prairie  scenes  we 
passed  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Peters  river,  near  the  Traverse  de  Sioux. 

Whilst  traversing  this  beautiful  region  of  country,  we  passed  the  bands  of 
Sioux,  who  had  made  us  so  much  trouble  on  our  way  to  the  Red  Pipe,  but 
met  with  no  further  molestation. 

At  the  Traverse  de  Sioux,  our  horses  were  left,  and  we  committed  our 
bodies  and  little  travelling  conveniences  to  the  narrow  compass  of  a  modest 
canoe,  that  must  most  evidently  have  been  dug  out  from  the  wrong  side 
of  the  log — that  required  us  and  everything  in  it,  to  be  exactly  in  the  bot 
tom — and  then,  to  look  straight  forward,  and  speak  from  the  middle  of  our 
mouths,  or  it  was  "  t'other  side  up"  in  an  instant.  In  this  way  embarked, 
with  our  paddles  used  as  balance  poles  and  propellers  (after  drilling  awhile 
in  shoal  water  till  we  could  "get  the  hang  of  it"),  we  started  off,  upon 
the  bosom  of  the  St.  Peters,  for  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony.  *  * 

Sans  accident  we  arrived,  at  ten  o'clock 

at  night  of  the  second  day — and  sans  steamer  (which  we  were  in  hopes 
to  meet),  we  were  obliged  to  trust  to  our  little  tremulous  craft  to  carry 
us  through  the  windings  of  the  mighty  Mississippi  and  Lake  Pepin,  to 
Prairie  du  Chien,  a  distance  of  400  miles,  which  I  had  travelled  last 
summer  in  the  same  manner. 

"  Oh  the  drudgery  and  toil  of  paddling  our  little  canoe  from  this  to  Prairie 
du  Chien,  we  never  can  do  it,  Catlin." 

"  Ah  well,  never  mind,  my  dear  fellow — we  must  '  go  it' — there  is  no  other 
way.  But  think  of  the  pleasure  of  such  a  trip,  ha  ?  Our  guns  and  our  fish 
ing-tackle  will  we  have  in  good  order,  and  be  masters  of  our  own  boat — we 
can  shove  it  into  every  nook  and  crevice  ;  explore  the  caves  in  the  rocks  ; 
ascend  '  Mount  Strombolo,'  and  linger  along  the  pebbly  shores  of  Lake  Pe 
pin,  to  our  heart's  content."  "  Well,  I  am  perfectly  agreed  ;  that's  fine,  by 
Jupiter,  that's  what  I  shall  relish  exactly  ;  we  will  have  our  own  fun,  and  a 
truce  to  the  labour  and  time  ;  let's  haste  and  be  off."  So  we  catered  for  our 
voyage,  shook  hands  with  our  friends,  and  were  again  balancing  our  skittish 
bark  upon  the  green  waters  of  the  Mississippi.  We  encamped  (as  I  had 
done  the  summer  before),  along  its  lonely  banks,  whose  only  music  is  the 
echoing  war-song  that  rises  from  the  glimmering  camp-fire  of  the  retiring 
savage,  or  the  cries  of  the  famishing  wolf  that  sits  and  bitterly  weeps  out  in 
tremulous  tones,  his  impatience  for  the  crumbs  that  are  to  fall  to  his  lot. 


-    it,*. 

•    , 


;1W- 

WXW&&  •  — 

,-W^ 

^T  A 

'  ^  '' ,  ^       '       '  7  i 


'> 


fe 


278 


b_Lskl>'-iM>lTt!__: 


• 


209 

Oh !  but  we  enjoyed  those  moments,  (did  we  not,  Wood  ?  I  would  ask 
you,  in  any  part  of  the  world,  where  circumstances  shall  throw  this  in  your 
way),  those  nights  of  our  voyage,  which  ended  days  of  peril  and  fatigue  ; 
when  our  larder  was  full,  when  our  coffee  was  good,  our  mats  spread,  and  our 
musquito  bars  over  us,  which  admitted  the  cool  and  freshness  of  night,  but 
screened  the  dew.  and  bade  defiance  to  the  buzzing  thousands  of  sharp-billed, 
winged  torturers  that  were  kicking  and  thumping  for  admission.  I  speak 
now  of  fair  weather,  not  of  the  nights  of  lightning  and  of  rain  !  We'll  pass 
them  over.  We  had  all  kinds  though,  and  as  we  loitered  ten  days  on  our 
way,  we  examined  and  experimented  on  many  things  for  the  benefit  of  man 
kind.  We  drew  into  our  larder  (in  addition  to  bass  and  wild  fowls),  clams, 
snails,  frogs,  and  rattlesnakes  ;  the  latter  of  which,  when  properly  dressed 
and  broiled,  we  found  to  be  the  most  delicious  food  of  the  land. 

We  were  stranded  upon  the  Eastern  shore  of  Lake  Pepin,  where  head 
winds  held  us  three  days  ;  and,  like  solitary  Malays  or  Zealand  penguins, 
we  stalked  along  and  about  its  pebbly  shores  till  we  were  tired,  before  we 
could,  with  security,  lay  our  little  trough  upon  its  troubled  surface.  When 
liberated  from  its  wind-bound  shores,  we  busily  plied  our  paddles,  and  nim 
bly  sped  our  way,  until  we  were  landed  at  the  fort  of  "  Mount  Strombolo," 
(as  the  soldiers  call  it),  but  properly  denominated,  in  French,  La  Montaigne 
que  tromps  a  I'eau,  We  ascended  it  without  much  trouble  ;  and  enjoyed 
from  its  top,  one  of  the  most  magnificent  panoramic  views  that  the  Western 
world  can  furnish  ;  and  I  would  recommend  to  the  tourist  who  has  time  to  stop 
for  an  hour  or  two.  to  go  to  its  summit,  and  enjoy  with  rapture,  the  splendour 
of  the  scene  that  lies  near  and  in  distance  about  him.  This  mountain,  or 
rather  pyramid,  is  an  anomaly  in  the  country,  rising  as  it  does,  about  seven 
hundred  feet  from  the  water,  and  washed  at  its  base,  all  around,  by  the 
river  ;  which  divides  and  runs  on  each  side  of  it.  It  is  composed  chiefly  of 
rock,  and  all  its  strata  correspond  exactly  with  those  of  the  projecting  pro 
montories  on  either  side  of  the  river.  We  at  length  arrived  safe  at  Prairie 
du  Chien  ;  which  was  also  sans  steamer.  We  were  moored  again,  thirty 
miles  below,  at  the  beautiful  banks  and  bluffs  of  Cassville  ;  which,  too,  was 
sans  steamer — we  dipped  our  paddles  again and 

We  are  now  six  hundred  miles  below  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  where 
steamers  daily  pass  ;  and  we  feel,  of  course,  at  home.  I  spoke  of  the  Treaty. 
We  were  just  in  time,  and  beheld  its  conclusion.  It  was  signed  yesterday ;  and 
this  day,  of  course,  is  one  of  revel  and  amusements — shows  of  war-parades 
and  dances.  The  whole  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  are  gathered  here,  and  their  ap 
pearance  is  very  thrilling,  and  at  the  same  time  pleasing.  These  people  have 
sold  so  much  of  their  land  lately,  that  they  have  the  luxuries  of  life  to  a  con 
siderable  degree,  and  may  be  considered  rich  ;  consequently  they  look  elated 
and  happy,  carrying  themselves  much  above  the  humbled  manner  of  most  of 
the  semi-civilized  tribes,  whose  heads  are  hanging  and  drooping  in  poverty 
and  despair. 

VOL.    II.  E    E 


In  a  former  epistle,  I  mentioned  the  interview  which  I  had  with  Kee-o-kuk, 
and  the  leading  men  and  women  of  his  tribe,  when  I  painted  a  number  of 
their  portraits  and  amusements  as  follow  : 

Kee-o-kuk  (the  running  fox,  PLATE  280),  is  the  present  chief  of  the  tribe, 
a  dignified  and  proud  man,  with  a  good  share  of  talent,  and  vanity  enough 
to  force  into  action  all  the  wit  and  judgment  he  possesses,  in  order  to  com 
mand  the  attention  and  respect  of  the  world.  At  the  close  of  the  "  Black 
Hawk  War,"  in  1833,  which  had  been  waged  with  disastrous  effects  along 
the  frontier,  by  a  Sac  chief  of  that  name  ;  Kee-o-kuk  was  acknowledged  chief 
of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  by  General  Scott,  who  held  a  Treaty  with  them  at 
Rock  Island.  His  appointment  as  chief,  was  in  consequence  of  the  friendly 
position  he  had  taken  during  the  war,  holding  two-thirds  of  the  warriors 
neutral,  which  was  no  doubt  the  cause  of  the  sudden  and  successful  termi 
nation  of  the  war,  and  the  means  of  saving  much  bloodshed.  Black  Hawk 
and  his  two  sons,  as  well  as  his  principal  advisers  and  warriors,  were  brought 
into  St.  Louis  in  chains,  and  Kee-o-kuk  appointed  chief  with  the  assent  of 
the  tribe.  In  his  portrait  I  have  represented  him  in  the  costume,  precisely, 
in  which  he  was  dressed  when  he  stood  for  it,  with  his  shield  on  his  arm,  and 
his  staff  (insignia  of  office)  in  his  left  hand.  There  is  no  Indian  chief  on 
the  frontier  better  known  at  this  time,  or  more  highly  appreciated  for  his 
eloquence,  as  a  public  speaker,  than  Kee-o-kuk  ;  as  he  has  repeatedly  visited 
Washington  and  others  of  our  Atlantic  towns,  and  made  his  speeches  before 
thousands,  when  he  has  been  contending  for  his  people's  rights,  in  their 
stipulations  with  the  United  States  Government,  for  the  sale  of  their  lands. 

As  so  much  is  known  of  this  man,  amongst  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  there  is  scarcely  need  of  my  saying  much  more  of  him  to  them  ;  but 
for  those  who  know  less  of  him,  1  shall  say  more  anon.  PLATE  281 ,  is  a  por 
trait  of  the  wife  of  Kee-o-kuk,  and  PLATE  282,  of  his  favourite  son,  whom  he 
intends  to  be  his  successor.  These  portraits  are  both  painted,  also,  in  the  cos 
tumes  precisely  in  which  they  were  dressed.  This  woman  was  the  favourite 
one,  (I  think)  of  seven,  whom  he  had  living,  (apparently  quite  comfortably 
and  peaceably,)  in  his  wigwam,  where  General  Street  and  I  visited  him  in 
his  village  on  the  Des  Moines  river.  And,  although  she  was  the  oldest  of 
the  "  lot,"  she  seemed  to  be  the  favourite  one  on  this  occasion — the  only  one 
that  could  be  painted  ;  on  account,  I  believe,  of  her  being  the  mother  of  his 
favourite  son.  Her  dress,  which  was  of  civilized  stuffs,  was  fashioned  and 
ornamented  by  herself,  and  was  truly  a  most  splendid  affair  ;  the  upper  part 
of  it  being  almost  literally  covered  with  silver  broaches. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  who  were  once  two  separate  tribes,  but  with  a 
language  very  similar,  have,  at  some  period  not  very  remote,  united  into  one, 
and  are  now  an  inseparable  people,  and  go  by  the  familiar  appellation  of  the 
amalgam  name  of  "  Sacs  and  Foxes." 

These  people,  as  will  be  seen  in  their  portraits,  shave  and  ornament  their 
heads,  like  the  Osages  and  Pawnees,  of  whom  I  have  spoken  heretofore  ; 


V 

*         -i^lv 


280 


fyers  . 


283 


284 


'( 


&.  Catkn 


Myers W.s 


211 

and  are  amongst  the  number  of  tribes  who  have  relinquished  their  immense 
tracts  of  lands,  and  recently  retired  West  of  the  Mississippi  river.  Their 
numbers  at  present  are  not  more  than  five  or  six  thousand,  yet  they  are  a 
warlike  and  powerful  tribe. 

Muk-a-tah-mish-o-kah-kaik  (the  black  hawk,  PLATE  283)  is  the  man  to 
whom  I  have  above  alluded,  as  the  leader  of  the  "  Black  Hawk  war,"  who 
was  defeated  by  General  Atkinson,  and  held  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  sent 
through  Washington  and  other  Eastern  cities,  with  a  number  of  others,  to 
be  gazed  at. 

This  man,  whose  name  has  carried  a  sort  of  terror  through  the  country 
where  it  has  been  soimded,  has  been  distinguished  as  a  speaker  or  councellor 
rather  than  as  a  warrior  ;  and  I  believe  it  has  been  pretty  generally  admitted, 
that  "  Nah-pope"  and  the  "  Prophet"  were,  in  fact,  the  instigators  of  the 
war ;  and  either  of  them  with  much  higher  claims  for  the  name  of  warrior 
than  Black  Hawk  ever  had. 

When  I  painted  this  chief,  he  was  dressed  in  a  plain  suit  of  buckskin, 
with  strings  of  wampum  in  his  ears  and  on  his  neck,  and  held  in  his  hand, 
his  medicine-bag,  which  was  the  skin  of  a  black  hawk,  from  which  he  had 
taken  his  name,  and  the  tail  of  which  made  him  a  fan,  which  he  was  almost 
constantly  using. 

PLATE  284,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Black  Hawk,  Nah-se-us-kuk  (the  whirl 
ing  thunder),  a  very  handsome  young  warrior,  and  one  of  the  finest-looking 
Indians  I  ever  saw.  There  is  a  strong  party  in  the  tribe  that  is  anxious  to 
put  this  young  man  up  ;  and  I  think  it  more  than  likely,  that  Kee-o-kuk 
as  chief  may  fall  ere  long  by  his  hand,  or  by  some  of  the  tribe,  who  are 
anxious  to  reinstate  the  family  of  Black  Hawk. 

PLATE  285,  Wah-pe-kee-suck  (the  white  cloud),  called  "  the  Prophet," 
is  a  very  distinguished  man,  and  one  of  the  principal  and  leading  men  of 
the  Black  Hawk  party,  and  studying  favour  with  the  whites,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  manner  in  which  he  was  allowing  his  hair  to  grow  out. 

PLATE  286,  Wee-sheet  (the  sturgeon's  head),  this  man  held  a  spear  in 
his  hand  when  he  was  being  painted,  with  which  he  assured  me  he  killed 
four  white  men  during  the  war;  though  I  have  some  doubts  of  the  fact. 

Ah-mou-a  (the  whale,  PLATE  287,  and  his  wife,  PLATE  288),  are  also  fair 
specimens  of  this  tribe.  Her  name  is  Wa-quo-the-qua  (the  buck's  wife,  or 
female  deer),  and  she  was  wrapped  in  a  mackinaw  blanket,  whilst  he  was 
curiously  dressed,  and  held  his  war-club  in  his  hand. 

Pash-ee-pa-ho  (the  little  stabbing  chief,  PLATE  289),  a  very  old  man, 
holding  his  shield,  staff  and  pipe  in  his  hands  ;  has  long  been  the  head  civil 
chief  of  this  tribe ;  but,  as  is  generally  the  case  in  very  old  age,  he  has  resigned 
the  office  to  those  who  are  younger  and  better  qualified  to  do  the  duties 
of  it. 

Besides  the  above-mentioned  personages,,  I  painted  also  the  following 
portraits,  which  are  now  in  my  Collection. 

E  E  2 


212 

I-o-toay  (the  loway),  one  of  Black  Hawk's  principal  warriors ;  his  body 
curiously  ornamented  with  his  "  war-paint ;"  Pam-a-ho  (the  swimmer),  one 
of  Black  Hawk's  warriors ;  No-kuk-qua  (the  bear's  fat)  ;  Pash-ee-pa-ho 
(the  little  stabbing  chief,  the  younger),  one  of  Black  Hawk's  braves ;  Wah- 
pa-ka-las-kuk  (the  bear's  track);  Wa-saw-me-saw  (the  roaring  thander), 
youngest  son  of  Black  Hawk  ;  painted  while  prisoner  of  war. 

PLATE  290,  Kee~a-kuk,  on  horseback.  After  I  had  painted  the  portrait 
of  this  vain  man  at  full  length,  and  which  I  have  already  introduced,  he  had 
the  vanity  to  say  to  me,  that  he  made  a  fine  appearance  on  horseback,  and 
that  he  wished  me  to  paint  him  thus.  So  I  prepared  my  canvass  in  the 
door  of  the  hospital  which  I  occupied,  in  the  dragoon  cantonment ;  and  he 
flourished  about  for  a  considerable  part  of  the  day  in  front  of  me,  until  the 
picture  was  completed.  The  horse  that  he  rode  was  the  best  animal  on 
the  frontier  ;  a  fine  blooded  horse,  for  which  he  gave  the  price  of  300  dollars, 
a  thing  that  he  was  quite  able  to,  who  had  the  distribution  of  50,000  dollars 
annuities,  annually,  amongst  his  people.  He  made  a  great  display  on  this 
day,  and  hundreds  of  the  dragoons  and  officers  were  about  him,  and  looking 
on  during  the  operation.  His  horse  was  beautifully  caparisoned,  and  his 
scalps  were  carried  attached  to  the  bridle-bits.* 

*  About  two  years  after  the  above  was  written,  and  the  portrait  painted,  and  whilst  I 
was  giving  Lectures  on  the  Customs  of  the  Indians, in  the  Stuyvesant  Institute  in  New  York, 
Kee-o-kuk  and  his  wife  and  son,  with  twenty  more  of  the  chiefs  and  warriors  of  his  tribe, 
visited  the  City  of  New  York  on  their  way  to  Washington  City,  and  were  present  one 
evening  at  my  Lecture,  amidst  an  audience  of  1500  persons.  During  the  Lecture,  I 
placed  a  succession  of  portraits  on  my  easel  before  the  audience,  and  they  were  succes 
sively  recognized  by  the  Indians  as  they  were  shewn  ;  and  at  last  I  placed  this  portrait 
of  Kee-o-kuk  before  them,  when  they  all  sprung  up  and  hailed  it  with  a  piercing  yell. 
After  the  noise  had  subsided,  Kee-o-kuk  arose,  and  addressed  the  audience  in  these 
words  : — "  My  friends,  I  hope  you  will  pardon  my  men  for  making  so  much  noise,  as  they 
were  very  much  excited  by  seeing  me  on  my  favourite  war-horse,  which  they  all  recog 
nized  in  a  moment." 

I  had  the  satisfaction  then  of  saying  to  the  audience,  that  this  was  very  gratifying  to 
me,  inasmuch  as  many  persons  had  questioned  the  correctness  of  the  picture  of  the  horse  ; 
and  some  had  said  in  my  Exhibition  Room,  "  that  it  was  an  imposition — that  no  Indian  on 
the  frontier  rode  so  good  a  horse."  This  was  explained  to  Kee-o-kuk  by  the  interpreter, 
when  he  arose  again  quite  indignant  at  the  thought  that  any  one  should  doubt  its  correct 
ness,  and  assured  the  audience,  "  that  his  men,  a  number  of  whom  never  had  heard  that 
the  picture  was  painted,  knew  the  horse  the  moment  it  was  presented  ;  and  further,  he 
wished  to  know  why  Kee-o-kuk  could  not  ride  as  good  a  horse  as  any  white  man?"  He 
here  received  a  round  of  applause,  and  the  interpreter,  Mr.  Le  Clair,  rose  and  stated  to 
the  audience,  that  he  recognized  the  horse  the  moment  it  was  shewn,  and  that  it  was  a 
faithful  portrait  of  the  horse  that  he  sold  to  Kee-o-kuk  for  300  dollars,  and  that  it  was 
the  finest  horse  on  the  frontier,  belonging  either  to  red  or  white  man. 

In  a  few  minutes  afterwards  I  was  exhibiting  several  of  my  paintings  of  buffalo-hunts, 
and  describing  the  modes  of  slaying  them  with  bows  and  arrows,  when  I  made  the  asser 
tion  which  I  had  often  been  in  the  habit  of  making,  that  there  were  many  instances  where 
the  arrow  was  thrown  entirely  through  the  buffalo's  body  ;  and  that  i  had  several  times 
witnessed  this  astonishing  feat.  I  saw  evidently  by  the  motions  of  my  audience,  that 


.  K/  5 


^\\  ' 


— 





flS*   ^^^^''^WMV 

#^  ^Jt^^^vdiHl' 
ft  «te:v5^>wlS 


fea/S?          ^  fc£  C3£.C5*^ 

' 


213 

The  dances  and  other  amusements  amongst  this  tribe  are  exceedingly 
spirited  and  pleasing ;  and  I  have  made  sketches  of  a  number  of  them,  which 
I  briefly  introduce  here,  and  leave  them  for  further  comments  at  a  future 
time,  provided  I  ever  get  leisure  and  space  to  enable  me  to  do  it. 

The  slave-dance  (PLATE  291),  is  a  picturesque  scene,  and  the  custom  in 
which  it  is  founded  a  very  curious  one.  This  tribe  has  a  society  which  they 
call  the  "  slaves,"  composed  of  a  number  of  the  young  men  of  the  best  fami 
lies  in  the  tribe,  who  volunteer  to  be  slaves  for  the  term  of  two  years,  and 
subject  to  perform  any  menial  service  that  the  chief  may  order,  no  matter  how 
humiliating  or  how  degrading  it  may  be  ;  by  which,  after  serving  their  two 
years,  they  are  exempt  for  the  rest  of  their  lives,  on  war-parties  or  other  ex 
cursions,  or  wherever  they  may  be — from  all  labour  or  degrading  occupations, 
such  as  cooking,  making  fires,  &c.  &c. 

These  young  men  elect  one  from  their  numbers  to  be  their  master,  and  all 
agree  to  obey  his  command  whatever  it  may  be,  and  which  is  given  to  him 
by  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  tribe.  On  a  certain  day  or  season  of  the  year, 
they  have  to  themselves  a  great  feast,  and  preparatory  to  it  the  above-men 
tioned  dance. 

Smoking  horses  (PLATE  292),  is  another  of  the  peculiar  and  very  curious 
customs  of  this  tribe.  When  General  Street  and  I,  arrived  at  Kee-o-kuks 
village,  we  were  just  in  time  to  see  this  amusing  scene,  on  the  prairie  a  little 
back  of  his  village.  The  Foxes,  who  were  making  up  a  war-party  to  go 
against  the  Sioux,  and  had  not  suitable  horses  enough  by  twenty,  had  sent 
word  to  the  Sacs,  the  day  before  (according  to  an  ancient  custom),  that  they 
were  coming  on  that  day,  at  a  certain  hour,  to  "  smoke"  that  number  of 
horses,  and  they  must  not  fail  to  have  them  ready.  On  that  day,  and  at  the 
hour,  the  twenty  young  men  who  were  beggars  for  horses,  were  on  the  spot, 
and  seated  themselves  on  the  ground  in  a  circle,  where  they  went  to  smok 
ing.  The  villagers  flocked  around  them  in  a  dense  crowd,  and  soon  after 
appeared  on  the  prairie,  at  half  a  mile  distance,  an  equal  number  of  young 
men  of  the  Sac  tribe,  who  had  agreed,  each  to  give  a  horse,  and  who  were 
then  galloping  them  about  at  full  speed  ;  and,  gradually,  as  they  went  around 
in  a  circuit,  coming  in  nearer  to  the  centre,  until  they  were  at  last  close 
around  the  ring  of  young  fellows  seated  on  the  ground.  Whilst  dashing 
about  thus,  each  one,  with  a  heavy  whip  in  his  hand,  as  he  came  within  reach 
of  the  group  on  the  ground,  selected  the  one  to  whom  he  decided  to  present 
his  horse,  and  as  he  passed  him,  gave  him  the  most  tremendous  cut  with  his 

many  doubted  the  correctness  of  my  assertion  ;  and  I  appealed  to  Kee-o-kuk,  who  rose  up 
when  the  thing  was  explained  to  him,  amd  said,  that  it  had  repeatedly  happened  amongst 
his  tribe  ;  and  he  believed  that  one  of  his  young  men  by  his  side  had  done  it.  The  young 
man  instantly  stepped  up  on  the  bench,  and  took  a  bow  from  under  his  robe,  with  which 
he  told  the  audience  he  had  driven  his  arrow  quite  through  a  buffalo's  body.  And,  there 
being  forty  of  the  Sioux  from  the  Upper  Missouri  also  present,  the  same  question  was 
put  to  them,  when  the  chief  arose,  and  addressing  himself  to  the  audience,  said,  that  it 
was  a  thing  very  often  done  by  the  hunters  in  his  tribe. 


214 

lash,  over  his  naked  shoulders  ;  and  as  he  darted  around  again  he  plied  the 
whip  as  before,  and  again  and  again,  with  a  violent  "  crack  !"  until  the 
blood  could  be  seen  trickling  down  over  his  naked  shoulders,  upon  which  he 
instantly  dismounted,  and  placed  the  bridle  and  whip  in  his  hands,  saying, 
"  here,  you  are  a  beggar — I  present  you  a  horse,  but  you  will  carry  my  mark 
on  your  back."  In  this  manner,  they  were  all  in  a  little  time  "  whipped  up," 
and  each  had  a  good  horse  to  ride  home,  and  into  battle.  His  necessity  was 
such,  that  he  could  afford  to  take  the  stripes  and  the  scars  as  the  price  of 
the  horse,  and  the  giver  could  afford  to  make  the  present  for  the  satisfaction 
of  putting  his  mark  upon  the  other,  and  of  boasting  of  his  liberality,  which  he 
has  always  a  right  to  do,  when  going  into  the  dance,  or  on  other  important 
occasions. 

The  Begging  Dance  (PLATE  293),  is  a  frequent  amusement,  and  one  that 
has  been  practiced  with  some  considerable  success  at  this  time,  whilst  there 
have  been  so  many  distinguished  and  liberal  visitors  here.  It  is  got  up  by  a 
number  of  desperate  and  long-winded  fellows,  who  will  dance  and  yell  their 
visitors  into  liberality  ;  or,  if  necessary,  laugh  them  into  it,  by  their  strange 
antics,  singing  a  song  of  importunity,  and  extending  their  hands  for  presents, 
which  they  allege  are  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  the  poor,  and  ensure  a  blessing 
to  the  giver. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  like  all  other  Indians,  are  fond  of  living  along  the 
banks  of  rivers  and  streams  ;  and  like  all  others,  are  expert  swimmers  and 
skilful  canoemen. 

Their  canoes,  like  those  of  the  Sioux  and  many  other  tribes,  are  dug  out 
from  a  log,  and  generally  made  extremely  light ;  and  they  dart  them  through 
the  coves  and  along  the  shores  of  the  rivers,  with  astonishing  quickness.  I 
was  often  amused  at  their  freaks  in  their  canoes,  whilst  travelling ;  and  I 
was  induced  to  make  a  sketch  of  one  which  I  frequently  witnessed,  that  of 
sailing  with  the  aid  of  their  blankets,  which  the  men  carry ;  and  when  the 
wind  is  fair,  stand  in  the  bow  of  the  canoe  and  hold  by  two  corners,  with  the 
other  two  under  the  foot  or  tied  to  the  leg  (PLATE  294) ;  while  the  women 
sit  in  the  other  end  of  the  canoe,  and  steer  it  with  their  paddles. 

The  Discovery  Dance  (PLATE  295),  has  been  given  here,  amongst  various 
others,  and  pleased  the  bystanders  very  much  ;  it  was  exceedingly  droll  and 
picturesque,  and  acted  out  with  a  great  deal  of  pantomimic  effect— without 
music,  or  any  other  noise  than  the  patting  of  their  feet,  which  all  came 
simultaneously  on  the  ground,  in  perfect  time,  whilst  they  were  dancing  for 
ward  two  or  four  at  a  time,  in  a  skulking  posture,  overlooking  the  country, 
and  professing  to  announce  the  approach  of  animals  or  enemies  which  they 
have  discovered,  by  giving  the  signals  back  to  the  leader  of  the  dance. 

Dance  to  the  Berdashe  (PLATE  296),  is  a  very  funny  and  amusing  scene, 
which  happens  once  a  year  or  oftener,  as  they  choose,  when  a  feast  is  given 
to  the  "  Berdashe"  as  he  is  called  in  French,  (or  I-coo-coo-a,  in  their  own 
language),  who  is  a  man  dressed  in  woman's  clothes,  as  he  is  known  to 


IO 
3J 


CO 


215 

to  be  all  his  life,  and  for  extraordinary  privileges  which  he  is  known  to 
possess,  he  is  driven  to  the  most  servile  and  degrading  duties,  which  he  is 
not  allowed  to  escape  ;  and  he  being  the  only  one  of  the  tribe  submitting  to 
this  disgraceful  degradation,  is  looked  upon  as  medicine  and  sacred,  and  a 
feast  is  given  to  him  annually  ;  and  initiatory  to  it,  a  dance  by  those  few 
young  men  of  the  tribe  who  can,  as  in  the  sketch,  dance  forward  and  pub 
licly  make  their  boast  (without  the  denial  of  the  Berdashe),  that  Ahg-whi-ee- 
choos-cum-me  hi-anh-dwax-cumme-ke  on-daig-nun-ehow  ixt.  Che-ne-a'hkt 
ah-pex-ian  I-coo-coo-a  wi-an-gurotst  whow-itcht-ne-axt-ar-rah,  ne-axt-gun- 
he  h'dow-k's  dow-on-daig-o-ewhicht  nun-go-was-see. 

Such,  and  such  only,  are  allowed  to  enter  the  dance  and  partake  of  the 
feast,  and  as  there  are  but  a  precious  few  in  the  tribe  who  have  legitimately 
gained  this  singular  privilege,  or  willing  to  make  a  public  confession  of  it,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  society  consists  of  quite  a  limited  number  of  "  odd 
fellows." 

This  is  one  of  the  most  unaccountable  and  disgusting  customs,  that  I  have 
ever  met  in  the  Indian  country,  and  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  belongs 
only  to  the  Sioux  and  Sacs  and  Foxes — perhaps  it  is  practiced  by  other 
tribes,  but  I  did  not  meet  with  it ;  and  for  further  account  of  it  I  am 
constrained  to  refer  the  reader  to  the  country  where  it  is  practiced,  and  where 
I  should  wish  that  it  might  be  extinguished  before  it  be  more  fully  recorded. 

Dance  to  the  Medicine  of  the  Brave  (PLATE  297.)  This  is  a  custom 
well  worth  recording,  for  the  beautiful  moral  which  is  contained  in  it.  In 
this  plate  is  represented  a  party  of  Sac  warriors  who  have  returned  victorious 
from  battle,  with  scalps  they  have  taken  from  their  enemies,  but  having 
lost  one  of  their  party,  they  appear  and  dance  in  front  of  his  wigwam, 
fifteen  days  in  succession,  about  an  hour  on  each  day,  when  the  widow 
hangs  his  medicine-bag  on  a  green  bush  which  she  erects  before  her  door, 
under  which  she  sits  and  cries,  whilst  the  warriors  dance  and  brandish 
the  scalps  they  have  taken,  and  at  the  same  time  recount  the  deeds  of 
bravery  of  their  deceased  comrade  in  arms,  whilst  they  are  throwing  pre 
sents  to  the  widow  to  heal  her  grief  and  afford  her  the  means  of  a  living. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes  are  already  drawing  an  annuity  of  27,000  dollars,  for 
thirty  years  to  come,  in  cash  ;  and  by  the  present  Treaty  just  concluded, 
that  amount  will  be  enlarged  to  37,000  dollars  per  annum.  This  Treaty  with 
the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  held  at  Rock  Island,  was  for  the  purchase  of  a  tract  of 
land  of  256,000  acres,  lying  on  the  loway  river,  West  of  the  Mississippi,  a 
reserve  which  was  made  in  the  tract  of  land  conveyed  to  the  Government  by 
Treaty  after  the  Sac  war,  and  known  as  the  "  Black  Hawk  purchase."  The 
Treaty  has  been  completed  by  Governor  Dodge,  by  stipulating  on  the  part  of 
Government  to  pay  them  seventy-five  cents  per  acre  for  the  reserve,  (amount 
ing  to  192,000  dollars),  in  the  manner  and  form  following  : — 

Thirty  thousand  dollars  to  be  paid  in  specie  in  June  next,  at  the  Treaty- 
ground  ;  and  ten  thousand  dollars  annually,  for  ten  years  to  come,  at  the 


216 

same  place,  and  in  the  same  manner  ;  and  the  remaining  sixty-two  thousand, 
in  the  payment  of  their  debts,  and  some  little  donations  to  widows  and  half- 
breed  children.  The  American  Fur  Company  was  their  principal  creditor, 
whose  account  for  goods  advanced  on  credit,  they  admitted,  to  the  amount 
of  nearly  fifty  thousand  dollars.  It  was  stipulated  by  an  article  in  the  Treaty 
that  one  half  of  these  demands  should  be  paid  in  cash  as  soon  as  the  Treaty 
should  be  ratified — and  that  five  thousand  dollars  should  be  appropriated 
annually,  for  their  liquidation,  until  they  were  paid  off. 

It  was  proposed  by  Kee-o-kuk  in  his  speech  (and  it  is  a  fact  worthy  of  being 
known,  for  such  has  been  the  proposition  in  every  Indian  Treaty  that  I  ever 
attended),  that  the  first  preparatory  stipulation  on  the  part  of  Government, 
should  be  to  pay  the  requisite  sum  of  money  to  satisfy  all  their  creditors, 
who  were  then  present,  and  whose  accounts  were  handed  in,  acknowledged 
and  admitted. 

The  price  paid  for  this  tract  of  land  is  a  liberal  one,  comparatively  speak 
ing,  for  the  usual  price  heretofore  paid  for  Indian  lands,  has  been  one  and  a 
half  or  three  quarter  cents,  (instead  of  seventy-five  cents)  per  acre,  for  land 
which  Government  has  since  sold  out  for  ten  shillings. 

Even  one  dollar  per  acre  would  not  have  been  too  much  to  have  paid  for 
this  tract,  for  every  acre  of  it  can  be  sold  in  one  year,  for  ten  shillings  per  acre, 
to  actual  settlers,  so  desirable  and  so  fertile  is  the  tract  of  country  purchased. 
These  very  people  sold  to  Government  a  great  part  of  the  rich  states  of  Illi 
nois  and  Missouri,  at  the  low  rates  above-mentioned  ;  and  this  small  tract 
being  the  last  that  they  can  ever  part  with,  without  throwing  themselves  back 
upon  their  natural  enemies,  it  was  no  more  than  right  that  Government 
should  deal  with  them,  as  they  have  done,  liberally. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  immediate  value  of  that  tract  of  land  to  Govern 
ment,  and,  as  a  striking  instance  of  the  overwhelming  torrent  of  emigration, 
to  the  "  Far  West,"  I  will  relate  the  following  occurrence  which  took  place 
at  the  close  of  the  Treaty  : — After  the  Treaty  was  signed  and  witnessed,  Go 
vernor  Dodge  addressed  a  few  very  judicious  and  admonitory  sentences  to 
the  chiefs  and  braves,  which  he  finished  by  requesting  them  to  move  their 
families,  and  all  their  property  from  this  tract,  within  one  month,  which  time 
he  would  allow  them,  to  make  room  for  the  whites. 

Considerable  excitement  was  created  among  the  chiefs  and  braves,  by  this 
suggestion,  and  a  hearty  laugh  ensued,  the  cause  of  which  was  soon  after 
explained  by  one  of  them  in  the  following  manner  : — 

"  My  father,  we  have  to  laugh — we  require  no  time  to  move — we  have  all 
left  the  lands  already,  and  sold  our  wigwams  to  Chemokemons  (white  men) — 
some  for  one  hundred,  and  some  for  two  hundred  dollars,  before  we  came  to 
this  Treaty.  There  are  already  four  hundred  Chemokemons  on  the  land,  and 
several  hundred  more  on  their  way  moving  in  ;  and  three  days  before  we  came 
away,  one  Chemokemon  sold  his  wigwam  to  another  Chemokemon  for  two 
thousand  dollars,  to  build  a  great  town." 


r. 
~  i 


217 

In  this  wise  is  this  fair  land  filling  up,  one  hundred  miles  or  more  West 
of  the  Mississippi — not  with  barbarians,  but  with  people  from  the  East,  en 
lightened  and  intelligent — with  industry  and  perseverance  that  will  soon  rear 
from  the  soil  all  the  luxuries,  and  add  to  the  surface,  all  the  taste  and 
comforts  of  Eastern  refinement. 

The  Treaty  itself,  in  all  its  forms,  was  a  scene  of  interest,  and  Kee-o-kuk 
was  the  principal  speaker  on  the  occasion,  being  recognized  as  the  head 
chief  of  the  tribe.  He  is  a  very  subtle  and  dignified  man,  and  well  fit 
ted  to  wield  the  destinies  of  his  nation.  The  poor  dethroned  monarch,  old 
Black  Hawk,  was  present,  and  looked  an  object  of  pity.  With  an  old 
frock  coat  and  brown  hat  on,  and  a  cane  in  his  hand,  he  stood  the  whole 
time  outside  of  the  group,  and  in  dumb  and  dismal  silence,  with  his 
sons  by  the  side  of  him,  and  also  his  quondam  aide-de-camp,  Nah- 
pope,  and  the  prophet.  They  were  not  allowed  to  speak,  nor  even  to 
sign  the  Treaty.  Nah-pope  rose,  however,  and  commenced  a  very  earnest 
speech  on  the  subject  of  temperance  \  but  Governor  Dodge  ordered  him 
to  sit  down,  (as  being  out  of  order),  which  probably  saved  him  from 
a  much  more  peremptory  command  from  Kee-o-kuk,  who  was  rising  at  that 
moment,  with  looks  on  his  face  that  the  Devil  himself  might  have  shrunk 
from.  This  Letter  I  must  end  here,  observing,  before  I  say  adieu,  that 
I  have  been  catering  for  the  public  during  this  summer  at  a  difficult 
(and  almost  cruel)  rate ;  and  if,  in  my  over-exertions  to  grasp  at  material  for 
their  future  entertainment,  the  cold  hand  of  winter  should  be  prematurely 
laid  upon  me  and  my  works  in  this  Northern  region,  the  world,  I  am  sure, 
will  be  disposed  to  pity,  rather  than  censure  me  for  my  delay. 


VOL.    11,  F   V 


218 


LETTER— No.  57. 


FORT  MOULTRIE,   SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

SINCE  the  date  of  my  last  Letter,  I  have  been  a  wanderer  as  usual,  and 
am  now  at  least  2000  miles  from  the  place  where  it  was  dated.  At  this 
place  are  held  250  of  the  Seminolees  and  Euchees,  prisoners  of  war,  who 
are  to  be  kept  here  awhile  longer,  and  transferred  to  the  country  assigned 
them,  700  miles  West  of  the  Mississippi,  and  1400  from  this.  The  famous 
Os-ce-o-la  is  amongst  the  prisoners ;  and  also  Mick-e-no-pah,  the  head 
chief  of  the  tribe,  and  Cloud,  King  Phillip,  and  several  others  of  the  distin 
guished  men  of  the  nation,  who  have  celebrated  themselves  in  the  war  that 
is  now  waging  with  the  United  States'  Government. 

There  is  scarcely  any  need  of  my  undertaking  in  an  epistle  of  this  kind,  to 
give  a  full  account  of  this  tribe,  of  their  early  history — of  their  former  or 
present  location — or  of  their  present  condition,  and  the  disastrous  war  they 
are  now  waging  with  the  United  States'  Government,  who  have  held  an  in 
vading  army  in  their  country  for  four  or  five  years,  endeavouring  to  dispossess 
them  and  compel  them  to  remove  to  the  West,  in  compliance  with  Treaty 
stipulations.  These  are  subjects  generally  understood  already  (being  mat 
ters  of  history),  and  I  leave  them  to  the  hands  of  those  who  will  do  them 
more  complete  justice  than  I  could  think  of  doing  at  this  time,  with  the 
little  space  that  I  could  allow  them  ;  in  the  confident  hope  that  justice 
may  be  meted  out  to  them,  at  least  by  the  historian,  if  it  should  not  be  by 
their  great  Guardian,  who  takes  it  upon  herself,  as  with  all  the  tribes, 
affectionately  to  call  them  her  "  red  children." 

For  those  who  know  nothing  of  the  Seminolees,  it  may  be  proper  for  me 
here  just  to  remark,  that  they  are  a  tribe  of  three  or  four  thousand  ;  occu 
pying  the  peninsula  of  Florida — and  speaking  the  language  of  the  Creeks, 
of  whom  I  have  heretofore  spoken,  and  who  were  once  a  part  of  the  same 
tribe. 

The  word  Seminolee  is  a  Creek  word,  signifying  runaways  ;  a  name  which 
was  given  to  a  part  of  the  Creek  nation,  who  emigrated  in  a  body  to  a 
country  farther  South,  where  they  have  lived  to  the  present  day  ;  and  con 
tinually  extended  their  dominions  by  overrunning  the  once  numerous  tribe 
that  occupied  the  Southern  extremity  of  the  Florida  Cape,  called  the  Eu 
chees  ;  whom  they  have  at  last  nearly  annihilated,  and  taken  the  mere 


298 


219 

remnant  of  them  in,  as  a  part  of  their  tribe.  With  this  tribe  the  Govern 
ment  have  been  engaged  in  deadly  and  disastrous  warfare  for  four  or  five 
years  ;  endeavouring  to  remove  them  from  their  lands,  in  compliance  with 
a  Treaty  stipulation,  which  the  Government  claims  to  have  been  justly  made, 
and  which  the  Seminolees  aver,  was  not.  Many  millions  of  money,  and 
some  hundreds  of  lives  of  officers  and  men  have  already  been  expended  in 
the  attempt  to  dislodge  them ;  and  much  more  will  doubtless  be  yet  spent 
before  they  can  be  removed  from  their  almost  impenetrable  swamps  and 
hiding-places,  to  which  they  can,  for  years  to  come,  retreat ;  and  from  which 
they  will  be  enabled,  and  no  doubt  disposed,  in  their  exasperated  state,  to 
make  continual  sallies  upon  the  unsuspecting  and  defenceless  inhabitants  of 
the  country ;  carrying  their  relentless  feelings  to  be  reeked  in  cruel  ven 
geance  on  the  unoffending  and  innocent.* 

The  prisoners  who  are  held  here,  to  the  number  of  250,  men,  women  and 
children,  have  been  captured  during  the  recent  part  of  this  warfare,  and  amongst 
them  the  distinguished  personages  whom  I  named  a  few  moments  since  ;  of 
these,  the  most  conspicuous  at  this  time  is  Os-ce-o-la  (PLATE  298),  com 
monly  called  Powell,  as  he  is  generally  supposed  to  be  a  half-breed,  the 
son  of  a  white  man  (by  that  name),  and  a  Creek  woman. 

I  have  painted  him  precisely  in  the  costume,  in  which  he  stood  for  his 
picture,  even  to  a  string  and  a  trinket.  He  wore  three  ostrich  feathers  in 
his  head,  and  a  turban  made  of  a  vari-coloured  cotton  shawl — and  his  dress 
was  chiefly  of  calicos,  with  a  handsome  bead  sash  or  belt  around  his  waist, 
and  his  rifle  in  his  hand. 

This  young  man  is,  no  doubt,  an  extraordinary  character,  as  he  has  been 
for  some  years  reputed,  and  doubtless  looked  upon  by  the  Seminolees  as 
the  master  spirit  and  leader  of  the  tribe,  although  he  is  not  a  chief.  From 
his  boyhood,  he  had  Jed  an  energetic  and  desperate  sort  of  life,  which  had 
secured  for  him  a  conspicuous  position  in  society  ;  and  when  the  desperate 
circumstances  of  war  were  agitating  his  country,  he  at  once  took  a  conspi 
cuous  and  decided  part ;  and  in  some  way  whether  he  deserved  it  or  not, 
acquired  an  influence  and  a  name  that  soon  sounded  to  the  remotest 

*  The  above  Letter  was  written  in  the  winter  of  1838,  and  by  the  Secretary  at  War's 
Report,  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  it  is  seen  that  36,000,000  of  dollars  had  been  already  ex 
pended  in  the  Seminolee  war,  as  well  as  the  lives  of  12  or  1400  officers  and  men,  and 
defenceless  inhabitants,  who  have  fallen  victims  to  the  violence  of  the  enraged  savages 
and  diseases  of  the  climate.  And  at  the  present  date,  August,  1841,  I  see  by  the  Ameri 
can  papers,  that  the  war  is  being  prosecuted  at  this  time  with  its  wonted  vigour ;  and 
that  the  best  troops  in  our  country,  and  the  lives  of  our  most  valued  officers  are  yet 
jeopardised  in  the  deadly  swamps  of  Florida,  with  little  more  certainty  of  a  speedy  ter 
mination  of  the  war,  than  there  appeared  five  years  ago. 

The  world  will  pardon  me  for  saying  no  more  of  this  inglorious  war,  for  it  will  be  seen 
that  I  am  too  near  the  end  of  my  book,  to  afford  it  the  requisite  space ;  and  as  an  Ameri 
can  citizen,  1  would  pray,  amongst  thousands  of  others,  that  all  books  yet  to  be  made, 
might  have  as  good  an  excuse  for  leaving  it  out. 

F  F    2 


220 

parts  of  the  United  States,  and  amongst  the  Indian  tribes,  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

This  gallant  fellow,  who  was,  undoubtedly,  captured  a  few  months  since, 
with  several  of  his  chiefs  and  warriors,  was  at  first  brought  in,  to  Fort  Mellon 
in  Florida,  and  afterwards  sent  to  this  place  for  safe-keeping,  where  he  is 
grieving  with  a  broken  spirit,  and  ready  to  die,  cursing  white  man,  no  doubt, 
to  the  end  of  his  breath. 

The  surgeon  of  the  post,  Dr.  Weedon,  who  has  charge  of  him,  and  has 
been  with  him  ever  since  he  was  taken  prisoner,  has  told  me  from  day  to 
day,  that  he  will  not  live  many  weeks  ;  and  I  have  my  doubts  whether  he 
will,  from  the  rapid  decline  I  have  observed  in  his  face  and  his  flesh  since 
I  arrived  here. 

During  the  time  that  I  have  been  here,  I  have  occupied  a  large  room  in 
the  officers'  quarters,  by  the  politeness  of  Captain  Morrison,  who  has  com 
mand  of  the  post,  and  charge  of  the  prisoners ;  and  on  every  evening,  after 
painting  all  day  at  their  portraits,  I  have  had  Os-ce-o-la,  Mick-e-no-pa, 
Cloud,  Co-a-had-jo,  King  Phillip,  and  others  in  my  room,  until  a  late  hour 
at  night,  where  they  have  taken  great  pains  to  give  me  an  account  of  the 
war,  and  the  mode  in  which  they  were  captured,  of  which  they  complain 
bitterly. 

I  am  fully  convinced  from  all  that  I  have  seen,  and  learned  from  the  lips 
of  Osceola,  and  from  the  chiefs  who  are  around  him,  that  he  is  a  most  extra 
ordinary  man,  and  one  entitled  to  a  better  fate. 

In  stature  he  is  about  at  mediocrity,  with  an  elastic  and  graceful 
movement ;  in  his  face  he  is  good  looking,  with  rather  an  effeminate  smile  ; 
but  of  so  peculiar  a  character,  that  the  world  may  be  ransacked  over  without 
finding  another  just  like  it.  In  his  manners,  and  all  his  movements  in  com 
pany,  he  is  polite  and  gentlemanly,  though  all  his  conversation  is  entirely  in 
his  own  tongue  ;  and  his  general  appearance  and  actions,  those  of  a  full- 
blooded  and  wild  Indian. 

In  PLATE  299,  is  a  portrait  of  Ye-how-lo-gee,  (the  cloud),  generally 
known  by  the  familiar  name  of  "  Cloud"  This  is  one  of  the  chiefs,  and 
a  very  good-natured,  jolly  man,  growing  fat  in  his  imprisonment,  where  he 
gets  enough  to  eat,  and  an  occasional  drink  of  whiskey  from  the  officers, 
with  whom  he  is  a  great  favourite. 

Ee-mat-la  ("  King  Philip,"  PLATE  300)  is  also  a  very  aged  chief,  who  has 
been  a  man  of  great  notoriety  and  distinction  in  his  time,  but  has  now  got 
too  old  for  further  warlike  enterprize.* 

Co-ee-ha-jo  (PLATE  301),  is  another  chief  who  has  been  a  long  time  dis 
tinguished  in  the  tribe,  having  signalized  himself  very  much  by  his  feats  in 
the  present  war. 

This  veteran  old  warrior  died  a  few  weeks  after  I  painted  his  portrait,  whilst  on  his 
way,  with  the  rest  of  the  prisoners,  to  the  Arkansas. 


221 

La-shee  (the  licker,  PLATE  302),  commonly  called  "  Creek  Billy,'1  is  a  dis 
tinguished  brave  of  the  tribe,  and  a  very  handsome  fellow. 

PLATE  303,  is  the  portrait  of  a  Seminolee  boy,  about  nine  years  of  age  ;* 
and  PLATE  304,  a  Seminolee  woman. 

Mick-e-no-pah  (PLATE  305),  is  the  head  chief  of  the  tribe,  and  a  very  lusty 
and  dignified  man.  He  took  great  pleasure  in  being  present  every  day  in 
my  room,  whilst  I  was  painting  the  others ;  but  positively  refused  to  be 
painted,  until  he  found  that  a  bottle  of  whiskey,  and  another  of  wine,  which 
I  kept  on  my  mantelpiece,  by  permission  of  my  kind  friend  Captain  Morri 
son,  were  only  to  deal  out  their  occasional  kindnesses  to  those  who  sat  for 
their  portraits;  when  he  at  length  agreed  to  be  painted,  "if  I  could  make  a 
fair  likeness  of  his  legs"  which  he  had  very  tastefully  dressed  in  a  handsome 
pair  of  red  leggings,  and  upon  which  I  at  once  began,  (as  he  sat  cross-legged), 
by  painting  them  on  the  lower  part  of  the  canvass,  leaving  room  for  his  body 
and  head  above  ;  all  of  which,  through  the  irresistible  influence  of  a  few  kind 
nesses  from  my  bottle  of  wine,  I  soon  had  fastened  to  the  canvass,  where 
they  will  firmly  stand  I  trust,  for  some  hundreds  of  years. 

Since  I  finished  my  portrait  of  Os-ce-o-la,  and  since  writing  the  first  part 
of  this  Letter,  he  has  been  extremely  sick,  and  lies  so  yet,  with  an  alarming 
attack  of  the  quinsey  or  putrid  sore  throat,  which  will  probably  end  his 
career  in  a  few  days.  Two  or  three  times  the  surgeon  has  sent  for  the  offi 
cers  of  the  Garrison  and  myself,  to  come  and  see  him  "  dying" — we  were  with 
him  the  night  before  last  till  the  middle  of  the  night,  every  moment  ex 
pecting  his  death  ;  but  he  has  improved  during  the  last  twenty-four  hours, 
and  there  is  some  slight  prospect  of  his  recovery.!  The  steamer  starts 

*  This  remarkably  fine  boy,  by  the  name  of  Os-ce-o-la  Nick-a-no-chee,  has  recently  been 
brought  from  America  to  London,  by  Dr.  Welch,  an  Englishman,  who  has  been  for 
several  years  residing  in  Florida.  The  boy  it  seems,  was  captured  by  the  United  States 
troops,  at  the  age  of  six  years  :  but  how  my  friend  the  Doctor  got  possession  of  him,  and 
leave  to  bring  him  away  I  never  have  heard.  He  is  acting  a  very  praiseworthy  part  how 
ever,  by  the  paternal  fondness  he  evinces  for  the  child,  and  fairly  proves,  by  the  very  great 
pains  he  is  taking  with  his  education.  The  doctor  has  published  recently,  a  very  neat 
volume,  containing  the  boy's  history  ;  and  also  a  much  fuller  account  of  Os-ce-o-la,  and 
incidents  of  the  Florida  war,  to  which  I  would  refer  the  reader. 

t  From  accounts  which  left  Fort  Moultrie  a  few  days  after  I  returned  home,  it  seems, 
that  this  ill-fated  warrior  died,  a  prisoner,  the  next  morning  after  I  left  him.  And  the  fol 
lowing  very  interesting  account  of  his  last  moments,  was  furnished  me  by  Dr.  Weedon, 
the  surgeon  who  was  by  him,  with  the  officers  of  the  garrison,  at  Os-ce-o-la's  request. 

"  About  half  an  hour  before  he  died,  he  seemed  to  be  sensible  that  he  was  dying  ;  and 
although  he  could  not  speak,  he  signified  by  signs  that  he  wished  me  to  send  for  the  chiefs 
and  for  the  officers  of  the  post,  whom  I  called  in.  He  made  signs  to  his  wives  (of  whom 
he  had  two,  and  also  two  fine  little  children  by  his  side,)  to  go  and  bring  his  full  dress, 
which  he  wore  in  time  of  war  ;  which  having  been  broughtin,  herose  up  in  his  bed,  which 
was  on  the  floor,  and  put  on  his  shirt,  bis  leggings  and  moccasins — girded  on  his  war-belt — 
his  bullet-pouch  and  powder-horn,  and  laid  his  knife  by  the  side  of  him  on  the  floor.  H« 
then  called  for  his  red  paint,  and  his  looking-glass,  which  was  held  before  him,  when  he 


222 

to-morrow  morning  for  New  York,  and  I  must  use  the  opportunity ;  so  I 
shall  from  necessity,  leave  the  subject  of  Os-ce-o-la  and  the  Seminolees 
for  future  consideration.  Adieu. 

deliberately  painted  one  half  of  his  face,  his  neck  and  his  throat — his  wrists — the  backs  of 
his  hands,  and  the  handle  of  his  knife,  red  with  vermilion ;  a  custom  practiced  when  the 
irrevocable  oath  of  war  and  destruction  is  taken.  His  knife  he  then  placed  in  its  sheath, 
under  his  belt ;  and  he  carefully  arranged  his  turban  on  his  head,  and  his  three  ostrich 
plumes  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  wearing  in  it.  Being  thus  prepared  in  full  dress,  he 
laid  down  a  few  minutes  to  recover  strength  sufficient,  when  he  rose  up  as  before,  and 
with  most  benignant  and  pleasing  smiles,  extended  his  hand  to  me  and  to  all  of  the  officers 
and  chiefs  that  were  around  him  ;  and  shook  hands  with  us  all  in  dead  silence  ;  and  also  with 
his  wives  and  his  little  children ;  he  made  a  signal  for  them  to  lower  him  down  upon  his 
bed,  which  was  done,  and  he  then  slowly  drew  from  his  war-belt,  his  scalping-knife,  which 
he  firmly  grasped  in  his  right  hand,  laying  it  across  the  other,  on  his  breast,  and  in  a 
moment  smiled  away  his  last  breath,  without  a  struggle  or  a  groan." 


223 


LETTER— No.  58. 


NORTH  WESTERN  FRONTIER. 

HAVING  finished  my  travels  in  the  "  Far  West"  for  awhile,  and  being 
detained  a  little  time,  sans  occupation,  in  my  nineteenth  or  twentieth  transit 
of  what,  in  common  parlance  is  denominated  the  Frontier  ;  I  have  seated 
myself  down  to  give  some  further  account  of  it,  and  of  the  doings  and  habits 
of  people,  both  red  and  white,  who  live  upon  it. 

The  Frontier  may  properly  be  denominated  the  fleeting  and  unsettled  line 
extending  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  a  distance  of 
three  thousand  miles ;  which  indefinitely  separates  civilized  from  Indian 
population — a  moving  barrier,  where  the  unrestrained  and  natural  propen 
sities  of  two  people  are  concentrated,  in  an  atmosphere  of  lawless  iniquity, 
that  offends  Heaven,  and  holds  in  mutual  ignorance  of  each  other,  the 
honourable  and  virtuous  portions  of  two  people,  which  seem  destined  never 
to  meet. 

From  what  has  been  said  in  the  foregoing  epistles,  the  reader  will  agree 
that  I  have  pretty  closely  adhered  to  my  promise  made  in  the  commence 
ment  of  them ;  that  I  should  confine  my  remarks  chiefly  to  people  I  have 
visited,  and  customs  that  I  have  seen,  rather  than  by  taking  up  his  time 
with  matter  that  might  be  gleaned  from  books.  He  will  also  agree,  that  I 
have  principally  devoted  my  pages,  as  I  promised,  to  an  account  of  the  con 
dition  and  customs  of  those  Indians  whom  I  have  found  entirely  beyond  the 
Frontier,  acting  and  living  as  Nature  taught  them  to  live  and  act,  with 
out  the  examples,  and  consequently  without  the  taints  of  civilized  encroach 
ments. 

He  will,  I  flatter  myself,  also  yield  me  some  credit  for  devoting  the  time 
and  space  I  have  occupied  in  my  first  appeal  to  the  world,  entirely  to  the  con 
dition  and  actions  of  the  living,  rather  than  fatiguing  him  with  theories  of 
the  living  or  the  dead.  I  have  theories  enough  of  my  own,  and  have  as 
closely  examined  the  condition  and  customs  of  these  people  on  the  Frontier, 
as  of  those  living  beyond  it — and  also  their  past  and  present,  and  prospec 
tive  history ;  but  the  reader  will  have  learned,  that  my  chief  object  in  these 
Letters,  has  been  not  only  to  describe  what  1  have  seen,  but  of  those  things, 
such  as  I  deemed  the  most  novel  and  least  understood  ;  which  has  of  course, 
confined  my  remarks  heretofore,  mostly  to  the  character  and  condition  of 
those  tribes  living  entirely  in  a  state  of  nature. 


224 

And  as  I  have  now  a  little  leisure,  and  no  particular  tribes  before  me  to 
speak  of,  the  reader  will  allow  me  to  glance  my  eye  over  the  whole  Indian 
country  for  awhile,  both  along  the  Frontier  and  beyond  it ;  taking  a  hasty 
and  brief  survey  of  them,  and  their  prospects  in  the  aggregate  ;  and  by  not 
seeing  quite  as  distinctly  as  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  heretofore, 
taking  pains  to  tell  a  little  more  emphatically  what  I  think,  and  what  I  have 
thought  of  those  things  that  I  have  seen,  and  yet  have  told  but  in  part. 

I  have  seen  a  vast  many  of  these  wild  people  in  my  travels,  it  will  be  ad 
mitted  by  all.  And  I  have  had  toils  and  difficulties,  and  dangers  to  encoun 
ter  in  paying  them  my  visits  ;  yet  I  have  had  my  pleasures  as  I  went  along, 
in  shaking  their  friendly  hands,  that  never  had  felt  the  contaminating  touch  of 
money,  or  the  withering  embrace  of  pockets  ;  I  have  shared  the  comforts 
of  their  hospitable  wigwams,  and  always  have  been  preserved  unharmed  in 
their  country.  And  if  I  have  spoken,  or  am  to  speak  of  them,  with  a  seeming 
bias,  the  reader  will  know  what  allowance  to  make  for  me,  who  am  standing 
as  the  champion  of  a  people,  who  have  treated  me  kindly,  of  whom  I  feel 
bound  to  speak  well ;  and  who  have  no  means  of  speaking  for  themselves. 

Of  the  dead,  to  speak  kindly,  and  to  their  character  to  render  justice,  is 
always  a  praiseworthy  act ;  but  it  is  yet  far  more  charitable  to  extend  the 
hand  of  liberality,  or  to  hold  the  scale  of  justice,  to  the  living,  who  are  able 
to  feel  the  benefit  of  it.  Justice  to  the  dead  is  generally  a  charity,  inas 
much  as  it  is  a  kindness  to  living  friends  ;  but  to  the  poor  Indian  dead,  if 
it  is  meted  out  at  all,  which  is  seldom  the  case,  it  is  thrown  to  the  grave 
with  him,  where  he  has  generally  gone  without  friends  left  behind  him  to 
inherit  the  little  fame  that  is  reluctantly  allowed  him  while  living,  and  much 
less  likely  to  be  awarded  to  him  when  dead.  Of  the  thousands  and  millions, 
therefore,  of  these  poor  fellows  who  are  dead,  and  whom  we  have  thrown  into 
their  graves,  there  is  nothing  that  I  could  now  say,  that  would  do  them  any 
good,  or  that  would  not  answer  the  world  as  well  at  a  future  time  as  at  the 
present ;  while  there  is  a  debt  that  we  are  owing  to  those  of  them  who  are 
yet  living,  which  I  think  justly  demands  our  attention,  and  all  our  sym 
pathies  at  this  moment. 

The  peculiar  condition  in  which  we  are  obliged  to  contemplate  these  most 
unfortunate  people  at  this  time — hastening  to  destruction  and  extinction,  as 
they  evidently  are,  lays  an  uncompromising  claim  upon  the  sympathies  of 
the  civilized  world,  and  gives  a  deep  interest  and  value  to  such  records  as 
are  truly  made — setting  up,  and  perpetuating  from  the  life,  their  true  native 
character  and  customs. 

If  the  great  family  of  North  American  Indians  were  all  dying  by  a  scourge  or 
epidemic  of  the  country,  it  would  be  natural,  and  a  virtue,  to  weep  for  them; 
but  merely  to  sympathize  with  them  (and  but  partially  to  do  that)  when 
they  are  dying  at  our  hands,  and  rendering  their  glebe  to  our  possession, 
would  be  to  subvert  the  simplest  law  of  Nature,  and  turn  civilized  man, 
with  all  his  boasted  virtues,  back  to  worse  than  savage  barbarism. 


-~,  > 
jS*1 !  ,   >^- 


305 


225 

Justice  to  a  nation  who  are  dying,  need  never  be  expected  from  the  hands 
of  their  destroyers  ;  and  where  injustice  and  injury  are  visited  upon  the  weak 
and  defenceless,  from  ten  thousand  hands — from  Governments — monopolies 
and  individuals — the  offence  is  lost  in  the  inseverable  iniquity  in  which  all 
join,  and  for  which  nobody  is  answerable,  unless  it  be  for  their  respective 
amounts,  at  a  final  day  of  retribution. 

Long  and  cruel  experience  has  well  proved  that  it  is  impossible  for  en 
lightened  Governments  or  money-making  individuals  to  deal  with  these 
credulous  and  unsophisticated  people,  without  the  sin  of  injustice  ;  but  the 
humble  biographer  or  historian,  who  goes  amongst  them  from  a  different 
motive,  may  come  out  of  their  country  with  his  hands  and  his  conscience 
clean,  and  himself  an  anomaly,  a  white  man  dealing  with  Indians,  and 
meting  out  justice  to  them  ;  which  I  hope  it  may  be  my  good  province  to  do 
with  my  pen  and  my  brush,  with  which,  at  least,  I  will  have  the  singular 
and  valuable  satisfaction  of  having  done  them  no  harm. 

With  this  view,  and  a  desire  to  render  justice  to  my  readers  also,  I  have 
much  yet  to  say  of  the  general  appearance  and  character  of  the  Indians — of 
their  condition  and  treatment ;  and  far  more,  I  fear,  than  I  can  allot  to  the 
little  space  I  have  designed  for  the  completion  of  these  epistles. 

Of  the  general  appearance  of  the  North  American  Indians,  much  might 
be  yet  said,  that  would  be  new  and  instructive.  In  statute,  as  I  have  al 
ready  said,  there  are  some  of  the  tribes  that  are  considerably  above  the  ordi 
nary  height  of  man,  and  others  that  are  evidently  below  it ;  allowing  their 
average  to  be  about  equal  to  that  of  their  fellow-men  in  the  civilized  world. 
In  girth  they  are  less,  and  lighter  in  their  limbs,  and  almost  entirely  free 
from  corpulency  or  useless  flesh.  Their  bones  are  lighter,  their  skulls  are 
thinner,  and  their  muscles  less  hard  than  those  of  their  civilized  neighbours, 
excepting  in  the  legs  and  feet,  where  they  are  brought  into  more  continual 
action  by  their  violent  exercise  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  which  swells  the 
muscles  and  gives  them  great  strength  in  those  limbs,  which  is  often  quite 
as  conspicuous  as  the  extraordinary  development  of  muscles  in  the  shoulders 
and  arms  of  our  labouring  men. 

Although  the  Indians  are  generally  narrow  in  the  shoulders,  and  less 
powerful  with  the  arms,  yet  it  does  not  always  happen  by  any  means,  that 
they  are  so  effeminate  as  they  look,  and  so  widely  inferior  in  brachial 
strength,  as  the  spectator  is  apt  to  believe,  from  the  smooth  and  rounded 
appearance  of  their  limbs.  The  contrast  between  one  of  our  labouring  men 
when  he  denudes  his  limbs,  and  the  figure  of  a  naked  Indian  is  to  be  sure 
very  striking,  and  entirely  too  much  so,  for  the  actual  difference  in  the  power 
of  the  two  persons.  There  are  several  reasons  for  this  which  account  for  so 
disproportionate  a  contrast,  and  should  be  named. 

The  labouring  man,  who  is  using  his  limbs  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
lifting  heavy  weights,  &c.  sweats  them  with  the  weight  of  clothes  which  he 
has  on  him,  which  softens  the  integuments  and  the  flesh,  leaving  the  muscles 

VOL.   i'.  GO 


226 

to  stand  out  in  more  conspicuous  relief  when  they  are  exposed  ;  whilst  the 
Indian,  who  exercises  his  limbs  for  the  most  of  his  life,  denuded  and 
exposed  to  the  air,  gets  over  his  muscles  a  thicker  and  more  compact  layer 
of  integuments  which  hide  them  from  the  view,  leaving  the  casual  spectator, 
who  sees  them  only  at  rest,  to  suppose  them  too  decidedly  inferior  to  those 
which  are  found  amongst  people  of  his  own  colour.  Of  muscular  strength 
in  the  legs,  I  have  met  many  of  the  most  extraordinary  instances  in  the  In 
dian  country,  that  ever  I  have  seen  in  my  life  ;  and  I  have  watched  and 
studied  such  for  hours  together,  with  utter  surprise  and  admiration,  in  the 
violent  exertions  of  their  dances,  where  they  leap  and  jump  with  every  nerve 
strung,  and  every  muscle  swelled,  till  their  legs  will  often  look  like  a  bundle 
of  ropes,  rather  than  a  mass  of  human  flesh.  And  from  all  that  I  have  seen, 
I  am  inclined  to  say,  that  whatever  differences  there  may  be  between  the 
North  American  Indians  and  their  civilized  neighbours  in  the  above  respects, 
they  are  decidedly  the  results  of  different  habits  of  life  and  modes  of  educa 
tion  rather  than  of  any  difference  in  constitution.  And  I  would  also  venture 
the  assertion,  that  he  who  would  see  the  Indian  in  a  condition  to  judge  of 
his  muscles,  must  see  him  in  motion  ;  and  he  who  would  get  a  perfect  study 
for  an  Hercules  or  an  Atlas,  should  take  a  stone-mason  for  the  upper  part  of 
his  figure,  and  a  Camanchee  or  a  Blackfoot  Indian  from  the  waist  downwards 
to  the  feet. 

There  is  a  general  and  striking  character  in  the  facial  outline  of  the  North 
American  Indians,  which  is  bold  and  free,  and  would  seem  at  once  to  stamp 
them  as  distinct  from  natives  of  other  parts  of  the  world.  Their  noses  are 
generally  prominent  and  aquiline — and  the  whole  face,  if  divested  of  paint 
and  of  copper-colour,  would  seem  to  approach  to  the  bold  and  European  cha 
racter.  Many  travellers  have  thought  that  their  eyes  were  smaller  than  those 
of  Europeans ;  and  there  is  good  cause  for  one  to  believe  so,  if  he  judges 
from  first  impressions,  without  taking  pains  to  inquire  into  the  truth  and 
causes  of  things.  I  have  been  struck,  as  most  travellers,  no  doubt  have, 
with  the  want  of  expansion  and  apparent  smallness  of  the  Indians'  eyes, 
which  I  have  found  upon  examination,  to  be  principally  the  effect  of  con 
tinual  exposure  to  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  the  wind,  without  the  shields  that 
are  used  by  the  civilized  world  ;  and  also  when  in-doors,  and  free  from  those 
causes,  subjected  generally  to  one  more  distressing,  and  calculated  to  pro 
duce  similar  results,  the  smoke  that  almost  continually  hangs  about  their 
wigwams,  which  necessarily  contracts  the  lids  of  the  eyes,  forbidding  that 
full  flame  and  expansion  of  the  eye,  that  the  cool  and  clear  shades  of  our 
civilized  domicils  are  calculated  to'promote. 

The  teeth  of  the  Indians  are  generally  regular  and  sound,  and  wonderfully 

preserved  to  old  age,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  fact  that  they  live  without  the 

spices  of  life — without  saccharine  and  without  salt,  which  are  equally  de- 

tructive  to  teeth,  in  civilized  communities.     Their  teeth,  though  sound,  are 

not  white,  having  a  yellowish  cast ;  but  for  the  same  reason  that  a  negro's 


227 

teeth  are  "  like  ivory,"  they  look  white — set  as  they  are  in  bronze,  as  any 
one  with  a  tolerable  set  of  teeth  can  easily  test,  by  painting  his  face  the  co 
lour  of  an  Indian,  and  grinning  for  a  moment  in  his  looking-glass. 

Beards  they  generally  have  not — esteeming  them  great  vulgarities,  and 
using  every  possible  means  to  eradicate  them  whenever  they  are  so  unfortu 
nate  as  to  be  annoyed  with  them.  Different  writers  have  been  very  much 
at  variance  on  this  subject  ever  since  the  first  accounts  given  of  these  people; 
and  there  seems  still  an  unsatisfied  curiosity  on  the  subject,  which  1  would 
be  glad  to  say  that  I  could  put  entirely  at  rest. 

From  the  best  information  that  I  could  obtain  amongst  forty-eight  tribes 
that  I  have  visited,  I  feel  authorized  to  say,  that,  amongst  the  wild  tribes, 
where  they  have  made  no  efforts  to  imitate  white  men,  at  least,  the  propor 
tion  of  eighteen  out  of  twenty,  by  nature  are  entirely  without  the  appearance 
of  a  beard ;  and  of  the  very  few  who  have  them  by  nature,  nineteen  out  of  twenty 
eradicate  it  by  plucking  it  out  several  times  in  succession,  precisely  at  the 
age  of  puberty,  when  its  growth  is  successfully  arrested  ;  and  occasionally 
one  may  be  seen,  who  has  omitted  to  destroy  it  at  that  time,  and  subjects 
his  chin  to  the  repeated  pains  of  its  extractions,  which  he  is  performing  with 
a  pair  of  clamshells  or  other  tweezers,  nearly  every  day  of  his  life — and  oc 
casionally  again,  but  still  more  rarely,  one  is  found,  who  from  carelessness  or 
inclination  has  omitted  both  of  these,  and  is  allowing  it  to  grow  to  the  length 
of  an  inch  or  two  on  his  chin,  in  which  case  it  is  generally  very  soft,  and 
exceedingly  sparse.  Wherever  there  is  a  cross  of  the  blood  with  the  Euro 
pean  or  African,  which  is  frequently  the  case  along  the  Frontier,  a  propor 
tionate  beard  is  the  result ;  and  it  is  allowed  to  grow,  or  is  plucked  out  with 
much  toil,  and  with  great  pain. 

There  has  been  much  speculation,  and  great  variety  of  opinions,  as  to  the 
results  of  the  intercourse  between  the  European  and  African  population  with 
the  Indians  on  the  borders;  and  I  would  not  undertake  to  decide  so  diffi 
cult  a  question,  though  I  cannot  help  but  express  my  opinion,  which  is  made 
up  from  the  vast  many  instances  that  I  have  seen,  that  generally  speaking, 
these  half-breed  specimens  are  in  both  instances  a  decided  deterioration  from 
the  two  stocks,  from  which  they  have  sprung ;  which  I  grant  may  be  the 
consequence  that  generally  flows  from  illicit  intercourse,  and  from  the  inferior 
rank  in  which  they  are  held  by  both,  (which  is  mostly  confined  to  the  lowest 
and  most  degraded  portions  of  society),  rather  than  from  any  constitutional 
objection,  necessarily  growing  out  of  the  amalgamation. 

The  finest  built  and  most  powerful  men  that  I  have  ever  yet  seen,  have 
been  some  of  the  last-mentioned,  the  negro  and  the  North  American 
Indian  mixed,  of  equal  blood.  These  instances  are  rare  to  be  sure,  yet 
are  occasionally  to  be  found  amongst  the  Seminolees  and  Cherokees,  and 
also  amongst  the  Camanchees,  even,  and  the  Caddoes ;  and  I  account  for  it 
in  this  way  :  From  the  slave-holding  States  to  the  heart  of  the  country  of  a 

G  G  2 


228 

wild  tribe  of  Indians,  through  almost  boundless  and  impassable  wilds  and 
swamps,  for  hundreds  of  miles,  it  requires  a  negro  of  extraordinary  leg  and 
courage  and  perseverance,  to  travel ;  absconding  from  his  master's  fields,  to 
throw  himself  into  a  tribe  of  wild  and  hostile  Indians,  for  the  enjoyment  of  his 
liberty  ;  of  which  there  are  occasional  instances,  and  when  they  succeed,  they 
are  admired  by  the  savage  ;  and  as  they  come  with  a  good  share  of  the  tricks 
and  arts  of  civilization,  they  are  at  once  looked  upon  by  the  tribe,  as  extra 
ordinary  and  important  personages ;  and  generally  marry  the  daughters  of 
chiefs,  thus  uniting  theirs  with  the  best  blood  in  the  nation,  which  produce 
these  remarkably  fine  and  powerful  men  that  I  have  spoken  of  above. 

Although  the  Indians  of  North  America,  where  dissipation  and  disease 
have  not  got  amongst  them,  undoubtedly  are  a  longer  lived  and  healthier 
race,  and  capable  of  enduring  far  more  bodily  privation  and  pain,  than  civi 
lized  people  can  ;  yet  I  do  not  believe  that  the  differences  are  constitutional, 
or  anything  more  than  the  results  of  different  circumstances,  and  a  different 
education.  As  an  evidence  in  support  of  this  assertion,  I  will  allude  to  the 
hundreds  of  men  whom  I  have  seen,  and  travelled  with,  who  have  been  for 
several  years  together  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in  the  employment  of  the 
Fur  Companies  ;  where  they  have  lived  exactly  upon  the  Indian  system,  con 
tinually  exposed  to  the  open  air,  and  the  weather,  and,  to  all  the  disappoint 
ments  and  privations  peculiar  to  that  mode  of  life  ;  and  I  am  bound  to  say, 
that  I  never  saw  a  more  hardy  and  healthy  race  of  men  in  my  life,  whilst 
they  remain  in  the  country  ;  nor  any  who  fall  to  pieces  quicker  when  they 
get  back  to  confined  and  dissipated  life,  which  they  easily  fall  into,  when 
they  return  to  their  own  country. 

The  Indian  women  who  are  obliged  to  lead  lives  of  severe  toil  and  drudg 
ery,  become  exceedingly  healthy  and  robust,  giving  easy  birth  and  strong 
constitutions  to  their  children  ;  which,  in  a  measure,  may  account  for  the 
simplicity  and  fewness  of  their  diseases,  which  in  infancy  and  childhood  are 
very  seldom  known  to  destroy  life. 

If  there  were  anything  like  an  equal  proportion  of  deaths  amongst  the 
Indian  children,  that  is  found  in  the  civilized  portions  of  the  world,  the  In 
dian  country  would  long  since  have  been  depopulated,  on  account  of  the 
decided  disproportion  of  children  they  produce.  It  is  a  very  rare  occurrence 
for  an  Indian  woman  to  be  "  blessed"  with  more  than  four  or  five  children 
during  her  life  ;  and  generally  speaking,  they  seem  contented  with  two  or 
three;  when  in  civilized  communities  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  fora  woman 
to  be  the  mother  of  ten  or  twelve,  and  sometimes  to  bear  two  or  even  three  at 
a  time  ;  of  which  I  never  recollect  to  have  met  an  instance  during  all  my  ex 
tensive  travels  in  the  Indian  country,  though  it  is  possible  that  I  might 
occasionally  have  passed  them. 

For  so  striking  a  dissimilarity  as  there  evidently  is  between  these  people, 
and  those  living  according  to  the  more  artificial  modes  of  life,  in  a  subject,seem- 


229 

ingly  alike  natural  to  both,  the  reader  will  perhaps  expect  me  to  furnish  some 
rational  and  decisive  causes.  Several  very  plausible  reasons  have  been  ad 
vanced  for  such  a  deficiency  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  by  authors  who  have 
written  on  the  subject,  but  whose  opinions  I  should  be  very  slow  to  adopt ; 
inasmuch  as  they  have  been  based  upon  the  Indian's  inferiority,  (as  the  same 
authors  have  taken  great  pains  to  prove  in  most  other  respects,)  to  their  pale- 
faced  neighbours. 

I  know  of  but  one  decided  cause  for  this  difference,  which  I  would  venture 
to  advance,  and  which  I  confidently  believe  to  be  the  principal  obstacle  to 
a  more  rapid  increase  of  their  families  ;  which  is  the  very  great  length  of 
time  that  the  women  submit  to  lactation,  generally  carrying  their  children  at 
the  breast  to  the  age  of  two,  and  sometimes  three,  and  even  four  years  ! 

The  astonishing  ease  and  success  with  which  the  Indian  women  pass 
through  the  most  painful  and  most  trying  of  all  human  difficulties,  which 
fall  exclusively  to  the  lot  of  the  gentler  sex  ;  is  quite  equal,  I  have  found 
from  continued  enquiry,  to  the  representations  that  have  often  been  made  to 
the  world  by  other  travellers,  who  have  gone  before  me.  Many  people  have 
thought  this  a  wise  provision  of  Nature,  in  framing  the  constitutions  of  these 
people,  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  their  exposed  lives,  where  they  are  beyond 
the  pale  of  skilful  surgeons,  and  the  nice  little  comforts  that  visit  the  sick 
beds  in  the  enlightened  world  ;  but  I  never  have  been  willing  to  give  to 
Nature  quite  so  much  credit,  for  stepping  aside  of  her  own  rule,  which  I 
believe  to  be  about  half  way  between — from  which  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  the  refinements  of  art,  and  its  spices,  have  led  the  civilized  world  into 
the  pains  and  perils  of  one  unnatural  extreme ;  whilst  the  extraordinary 
fatigue  and  exposure,  and  habits  of  Indian  life,  have  greatly  released  them 
from  natural  pains,  on  the  other.  With  this  view  of  the  case,  I  fully  believe 
that  Nature  has  dealt  everywhere  impartially  ;  and  that,  if  from  their  child 
hood,  our  mothers  had,  like  the  Indian  women,  carried  loads  like  beasts  of 
burthen — and  those  over  the  longest  journeys,  and  highest  mountains — had 
swam  the  broadest  rivers — and  galloped  about  for  months  and  even  years 
of  their  lives,  astride  of  their  horse's  backs;  we  should  have  taxed  them  as 
lightly  in  stepping  into  the  world,  as  an  Indian  pappoose  does  its  mother, 
who  ties  her  horse  under  the  shade  of  a  tree  for  half  an  hour,  and  before 
night,  overtakes  her  travelling  companions  with  her  infant  in  her  arms,  which 
has  often  been  the  case. 

As  to  the  probable  origin  of  the  North  American  Indians,  which  is  one  of 
the  first  questions  that  suggests  itself  to  the  enquiring  mind,  and  will  be  per 
haps,  the  last  to  be  settled ;  I  shall  have  little  to  say  in  this  place,  for  the 
reason  that  so  abstruse  a  subject,  and  one  so  barren  of  positive  proof,  would 
require  in  its  discussion  too  much  circumstantial  evidence  for  my  allowed 
limits ;  which  I  am  sure  the  world  will  agree  will  be  filled  up  much  more 
consistently  with  the  avowed  spirit  of  this  work,  by  treating  of  that  which 


230 

admits  of  an  abundance  of  proof — their  actual  existence,  their  customs — and 
misfortunes  ;  and  the  suggestions  of  modes  for  the  amelioration  of  their 
condition. 

For  a  professed  philanthropist,  I  should  deem  it  cruel  and  hypocritical  to 
waste  time  and  space  in  the  discussion  of  a  subject,  ever  so  interesting, 
(though  unimportant),  when  the  present  condition  and  prospects  of  these 
people  are  calling  so  loudly  upon  the  world  for  justice,  and  for  mercy ;  and 
when  their  evanescent  existence  and  customs  are  turning,  as  it  were,  on  a 
wheel  before  us,  but  soon  to  be  lost ;  whilst  the  mystery  of  their  origin  can 
as  well  be  fathomed  at  a  future  day  as  now,  and  recorded  with  their  exit. 

Very  many  people  look  upon  the  savages  of  this  vast  country,  as  an 
"  Anomaly  in  Nature ;"  and  their  existence  and  origin,  and  locality,  things 
that  needs  must  be  at  once  accounted  for. 

Now,  if  the  world  will  allow  me,  (and  perhaps  they  may  think  me  singular 
for  saying  it),  I  would  say,  that  these  things  are,  in  my  opinion,  natural  and 
simple  ;  and,  like  all  other  works  of  Nature,  destined  to  remain  a  mystery  to 
mortal  man  ;  and  if  man  be  anywhere  entitled  to  the  name  of  an  anomaly,  it 
is  he  who  has  departed  the  farthest  from  the  simple  walks  and  actions  of  his 
nature. 

It  seems  natural  to  enquire  at  once  who  these  people  are,  and  from  whence 
they  came ;  but  this  question  is  natural,  only  because  we  are  out  of  nature. 
To  an  Indian,  such  a  question  would  seem  absurd — he  would  stand  aghast 
and  astounded  at  the  anomaly  before  him — himself  upon  his  own  ground, 
"  where  the  Great  Spirit  made  him" — hunting  in  his  own  forests ;  if  an 
exotic,  with  a  "  pale  face,"  and  from  across  the  ocean,  should  stand  before 
him,  to  ask  him  where  he  came  from,  and  how  he  got  there ! 

I  would  invite  this  querist,  this  votary  of  science,  to  sit  upon  a  log  with  his 
red  acquaintance,  and  answer  the  following  questions  :— 

"  You  white  man,  where  you  come  from  ?" 

"  From  England,  across  the  water." 

"  How  white  man  come  to  see  England  ?  how  you  face  come  to  get 
white,  ha  ?" 

I  never  yet  have  been  made  to  see  the  necessity  of  showing  how  these 
people  came  here,  or  that  they  came  here  at  all ;  which  might  easily  have 
been  done,  by  the  way  of  Behring's  Straits  from  the  North  of  Asia.  I  should 
much  rather  dispense  with  such  a  necessity,  than  undertake  the  other  neces 
sities  that  must  follow  the  establishment  of  this  ;  those  of  showing  how  the 
savages  paddled  or  drifted  in  their  canoes  from  this  Continent,  after  they  had 
got  here,  or  from  the  Asiatic  Coast,  and  landed  on  all  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
which  we  find  to  be  inhabited  nearly  to  the  South  Pole.  For  myself.  I  am 
quite  satisfied  with  the  fact,  which  is  a  thing  certain,  and  to  be  relied  on,  that 
this  Continent  was  found  peopled  in  every  part,  by  savages ;  and  so,  nearly 
every  Island  in  the  South  Seas,  at  the  distance  of  several  thousand  miles 
from  either  Continent ;  and  I  am  quite  willing  to  surrender  the  mystery  to 


231 

abler  pens  than  my  own — to  theorists  who  may  have  the  time,  and  the  means 
to  prove  to  the  world,  how  those  rude  people  wandered  there  in  their  bark 
canoes,  without  water  for  their  subsistence,  or  compasses  to  guide  them  on 
their  way. 

The  North  American  Indians,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  speaking  some  two  or  three  hundred  different  languages,  entirely  dis 
similar,  may  have  all  sprung  from  one  stock  ;  and  the  Almighty,  after  creat 
ing  man,  for  some  reason  that  is  unfathomable  to  human  wisdom,  might  have 
left  the  whole  vast  universe,  with  its  severed  continents,  and  its  thousand 
distant  isles  everywhere  teeming  with  necessaries  and  luxuries,  spread  out  for 
man's  use ;  and  there  to  vegetate  and  rot,  for  hundreds  and  even  thousands 
of  centuries,  until  ultimate,  abstract  accident  should  throw  him  amongst 
these  infinite  mysteries  of  creation  ;  the  least  and  most  insignificant  of  which 
have  been  created  and  placed  by  design.  Human  reason  is  weak,  and 
human  ignorance  is  palpable,  when  man  attempts  to  approach  these  un 
searchable  mysteries  ;  and  I  consider  human  discretion  well  applied,  when  it 
beckons  him  back  to  things  that  he  can  comprehend  ;  where  his  reason,  and 
all  his  mental  energies  can  be  employed  for  the  advancement  and  benefit  of 
his  species.  With  this  conviction,  I  feel  disposed  to  retreat  to  the  ground 
that  1  have  before  occupied — to  the  Indians,  as  they  are,  and  where  they 
are ;  recording  amongst  them  living  evidences  whilst  they  live,  for  the  use 
of  abler  theorists  than  myself — who  may  labour  to  establish  their  origin, 
which  may  be  as  well  (and  perhaps  better)  done,  a  century  hence,  than  at 
the  present  day. 

The  reader  is  apprised,  that  I  have  nearly  filled  the  limits  allotted  to 
these  epistles  ;  and  I  assure  him  that  a  vast  deal  which  I  have  seen  must 
remain  untold — whilst  from  the  same  necessity,  I  must  tell  him  much  less 
than  I  think,  and  beg  to  be  pardoned  if  I  withhold,  till  some  future  occasion, 
many  of  my  reasons  for,  thinking. 

I  believe,  with  many  others,  that  the  North  American  Indians  are  a  mixed 
people — that  they  have  Jewish  blood  in  their  veins,  though  I  would  not 
assert,  as  some  have  undertaken  to  prove,  "  that  they  are  Jews"  or  that 
they  are  "the  ten  lost  tribes  of  Israel."  From  the  character  and  confor 
mation  of  their  heads,  I  am  compelled  to  look  upon  them  as  an  amalgam 
race,  but  still  savages  ;  and  from  many  of  their  customs,  which  seem  to  me,  to 
be  peculiarly  Jewish,  as  well  as  from  the  character  of  their  heads,  I  am  forced 
to  believe  that  some  part  of  those  ancient  tribes,  who  have  been  dispersed 
by  Christians  in  so  many  ways,  and  in  so  many  different  eras,  have  found 
their  way  to  this  country,  where  they  have  entered  amongst  the  native  stock, 
and  have  lived  and  intermarried  with  the  Indians,  until  their  identity  has 
been  swallowed  up  and  lost  in  the  greater  numbers  of  their  new  acquaint 
ance,  save  the  bold  and  decided  character  which  they  have  bequeathed  to 
the  Indian  races  ;  and  such  of  their  customs  as  the  Indians  were  pleased  to 
adopt,  and  which  they  have  preserved  to  the  present  day. 


232 

I  am  induced  to  believe  thus  from  the  very  many  customs  which  I  have  wit 
nessed  amongst  them,  that  appear  to  be  decidedly  Jewish  ;  and  many  of  them 
so  peculiarly  so,  that  it  would  seem  almost  impossible,  or  at  all  events,  exceed 
ingly  improbable,  that  two  people  in  a  state  of  nature  should  have  hit  upon 
them,  and  practiced  them  exactly  alike. 

The  world  need  not  expect  me  to  decide  so  interesting  and  difficult  a 
question  ;  but  I  am  sure  they  will  be  disposed  to  hear  simply  my  opinion, 
which  I  give  in  this  place,  quite  briefly,  and  with  the  utmost  respectful  de 
ference  to  those  who  think  differently.  I  claim  no  merit  whatever,  for  ad 
vancing  such  an  opinion,  which  is  not  new,  having  been  in  several  works 
advanced  to  the  world  by  far  abler  pens  than  my  own,  with  volumes  of 
evidence,  to  the  catalogue  of  which,  I  feel  quite  sure  I  shall  be  able  to  add 
some  new  proofs  in  the  proper  place.  If  I  could  establish  the  fact  by  posi 
tive  proof,  I  should  claim  a  great  deal  of  applause  from  the  world,  and  should, 
no  doubt,  obtain  it ;  but,  like  everything  relating  to  the  origin  and  early 
history  of  these  unchronicled  people,  I  believe  this  question  is  one  that  will 
never  be  settled,  but  will  remain  open  for  the  opinions  of  the  world,  which 
will  be  variously  given,  and  that  upon  circumstantial  evidence  alone. 

I  am  compelled  to  believe  that  the  Continent  of  America,  and  each  of  the 
other  Continents,  have  had  their  aboriginal  stocks,  peculiar  in  colour  and  in 
character — and  that  each  of  these  native  stocks  lias  undergone  repeated 
mutations  (at  periods,  of  which  history  has  kept  no  records),  by  erratic 
colonies  from  abroad,  that  have  been  engrafted  upon  them — mingling  with 
them,  and  materially  affecting  their  original  character.  By  this  process,  I 
believe  that  the  North  American  Indians,  even  where  we  find  them  in  their 
wildest  condition,  are  several  degrees  removed  from  their  original  character; 
and  that  one  of  their  principal  alloys  has  been  a  part  of  those  dispersed 
people,  who  have  mingled  their  blood  and  their  customs  with  them,  and  even 
in  their  new  disguise,  seem  destined  to  be  followed  up  with  oppression  and 
endless  persecution. 

The  first  and  most  striking  fact  amongst  the  North  American  Indians 
that  refers  us  to  the  Jews,  is  that  of  their  worshipping  in  all  parts,  the  Great 
Spirit,  or  Jehovah,  as  the  Hebrews  were  ordered  to  do  by  Divine  precept, 
instead  of  a  plurality  of  gods,  as  ancient  pagans  and  heathens  did — and 
their  idols  of  their  own  formation.  The  North  American  Indians,  are  no 
where  idolaters — they  appeal  at  once  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  know  of  no 
mediator,  either  personal  or  symbolical. 

The  Indian  tribes  are  everywhere  divided  into  bands,  with  chiefs,  symbols, 
badges,  &c.,  and  many  of  their  modes  of  worship  I  have  found  exceedingly 
like  those  of  the  Mosaic  institution.  The  Jews  had  their  sanctum  sanctorums, 
and  so  may  it  be  said  the  Indians  have,  in  their  council  or  medicine-houses, 
which  are  always  held  as  sacred  places.  As  the  Jews  had,  they  have  their 
high-priests  and  their  prophets.  Amongst  the  Indians  as  amongst  the  ancient 
Hebrews,  the  women  are  not  allowed  to  worship  with  the  men — and  in  all 


233 

cases  also,  they  eat  separately.  The  Indians  everywhere,  like  the  Jews,  be 
lieve  that  they  are  the  favourite  people  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  they  are 
certainly,  like  those  ancient  people,  persecuted,  as  every  man's  hand  seems 
raised  against  them — and  they,  like  the  Jews,  destined  to  be  dispersed  over 
the  world,  and  seemingly  scourged  by  the  Almighty,  and  despised  of  man. 

In  their  marriages,  the  Indians,  as  did  the  ancient  Jews,  uniformly  buy 
their  wives  bv  giving  presents — and  in  many  tribes,  very  closely  resemble 
them  in  other  forms  and  ceremonies  of  their  marriages. 

In  their  preparations  for  war,  and  in  peace-making,  they  are  strikingly 
similar.  In  their  treatment  of  the  sick,  burial  of  the  dead  and  mourning, 
they  are  also  similar. 

In  their  bathing  and  ablutions,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  as  a  part  of 
their  religious  observances — having  separate  places  for  men  and  women  to 
perform  these  immersions — they  resemble  again.  And  the  custom  amongst 
the  women,  of  absenting  themselves  during  the  lunar  influences,  is  exactly 
consonant  to  the  Mosaic  law.  This  custom  of  separation  is  an  uniform 
one  amongst  the  different  tribes,  as  far  as  I  have  seen  them  in  their  primi 
tive  state,  and  be  it  Jewish,  natural  or  conventional,  it  is  an  indispensable 
form  with  these  wild  people,  who  are  setting  to  the  civilized  world,  this  and 
many  other  examples  of  decency  and  propriety,  only  to  be  laughed  at  by 
their  wiser  neighbours,  who,  rather  than  award  to  the  red  man  any  merit 
for  them,  have  taken  exceeding  pains  to  call  them  but  the  results  of  ignorance 
and  superstition. 

So,  in  nearly  every  family  of  a  tribe,  will  be  found  a  small  lodge,  large 
enough  to  contain  one  person,  which  is  erected  at  a  little  distance  from  the 
family  lodge,  and  occupied  by  the  wife  or  the  daughter,  to  whose  posses 
sion  circumstances  allot  it ;  where  she  dwells  alone  until  she  is  prepared  to 
move  back,  and  in  the  meantime  the  touch  of  her  hand  or  her  finger  to 
the  chiefs  lodge,  or  his  gun,  or  other  article  of  his  household,  consigns  it 
to  destruction  at  once  ;  and  in  case  of  non-conformity  to  this  indispen 
sable  form,  a  woman's  life  may,  in  some  tribes,  be  answerable  for  misfortunes 
that  happen  to  individuals  or  the  tribe,  in  the  interim. 

After  this  season  of  separation,  purification  in  running  water,  and  an- 
nointing,  precisely  in  accordance  with  the  Jewish  command,  is  requisite 
before  she  can  enter  the  family  lodge.  Such  is  one  of  the  extraordinary 
observances  amongst  these  people  in  their  wild  state  ;  but  along  the  Fron 
tier,  where  white  people  have  laughed  at  them  for  their  forms,  they  have 
departed  from  this,  as  from  nearly  everything  else  that  is  native  and  original 
about  them. 

In  their  feasts,  fastings  and  sacrificing,  they  are  exceedingly  like  those 
ancient  people.  Many  of  them  have  a  feast  closely  resembling  the  annual 
feast  of  the  Jewish  passover  ;  and  amongst  others,  an  occasion  much  like 
the  Israelitish  feast  of  the  tabernacles,  which  lasted  eight  days,  (when  history 
tells  us  they  carried  bundles  of  willow  boughs,  and  fasted  several  days  and 

VOL.  ii.  H  H 


234 

nights)   making  sacrifices  of  the  first  fruits  and  best  of  everything,  closely 
resembling  the  sin-offering  and  peace-offering  of  the  Hebrews.* 

These,  and  many  others  of  their  customs  would  seem  to  be  decidedly 
Jewish  ;  yet  it  is  for  the  world  to  decide  how  many  of  them,  or  whether  all 
of  them,  might  be  natural  to  all  people,  and,  therefore,  as  well  practiced  by 
these  people  in  a  state  of  nature,  as  to  have  been  borrowed  from  a  foreign 
nation. 

Amongst  the  list  of  their  customs  however,  we  meet  a  number  which  had 
their  origin  it  would  seem,  in  the  Jewish  Ceremonial  code,  and  which  are  so 
very  peculiar  in  their  forms,  that  it  would  seem  quite  improbable,  and  almost 
impossible,  that  two  different  people  should  ever  have  hit  upon  -them  alike, 
without  some  knowledge  of  each  other.  These  I  consider,  go  farther  than 
anything  else  as  evidence,  and  carry,  in  my  mind,  conclusive  proof  that  these 
people  are  tinctured  with  Jewish  blood  ;  even  though  the  Jewish  sabbath  has 
been  lost,  and  circumcision  probably  rejected  ;  and  dog's  flesh,  which  was 
an  abomination  to  the  Jews,  continued  to  be  eaten  at  their  feasts  by  all  the 
tribes  of  Indians  ;  not  because  the  Jews  have  been  prevailed  upon  to  use  it, 
but,  because  they  have  survived  only,  as  their  blood  was  mixed  with  that  of 
the  Indians,  and  the  Indians  have  imposed  on  that  mixed  blood  the  same 
rules  and  regulations  that  governed  the  members  of  the  tribes  in  general. 

Many  writers  are  of  opinion,  that  the  natives  of  America  are  all  from  one 
stock,  and  their  languages  from  one  root — that  that  stock  is  exotic,  and  that 
that  language  was  introduced  with  it.  And  the  reason  assigned  for  this 
theory  is,  that  amongst  the  various  tribes,  there  is  a  reigning  similarity  in 
looks — and  in  their  languages  a  striking  resemblance  to  each  other. 

Now,  if  all  the  world  were  to  argue  in  this  way,  I  should  reason  just  in 
the  other  ;  and  pronounce  this,  though  evidence  to  a  certain  degree,  to  be 
very  far  from  conclusive,  inasmuch  as  it  is  far  easier  and  more  natural  for  dis 
tinct  tribes,  or  languages,  grouped  and  used  together,  to  assimilate  than  to 
dissimilate ;  as  the  pebbles  on  a  sea-shore,  that  are  washed  about  and  jostled 
together,  lose  their  angles,  and  incline  at  last  to  one  rounded  and  uniform 
shape.  So  that  if  there  had  been,  ab  origine,  a  variety  of  different  stocks  in 
America,  with  different  complexions,  with  different  characters  and  customs, 
and  of  different  statures,  and  speaking  entirely  different  tongues  ;  where 
they  have  been  for  a  series  of  centuries  living  neighbours  to  each  other, 
moving  about  and  intermarrying;  I  think  we  might  reasonably  look  for  quite 
as  great  a  similarity  in  their  personal  appearance  and  languages,  as  we  now 
find  ;  when,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  are  to  suppose  that  they  were  all  from 
one  foreign  stock,  with  but  one  language,  it  is  a  difficult  thing  to  conceive  how 

*  See  the  four  days'  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Mandans,  and  use  of  the  willow- 
boughs,  and  sacrifices  of  fingers,  &c.  in  Vol.  I.  pp.  159.  170 ;  and  also  the  custom  of 
war-chiefs  wearing  horns  on  their  head-dresses,  like  the  Israelitish  chiefs  of  great  re 
nown,  Vol.  I.  p.  10-i. 


235 

or  in  what  space  of  time,  or  for  what  purpose,  they  could  have  formed  so 
many  tongues,  and  so  widely  different,  as  those  that  are  now  spoken  on  the 
Continent. 

It  is  evident  I  think,  that  if  an  island  or  continent  had  been  peopled  with 
black,  white  and  red  :  a  succession  of  revolving  centuries  of  intercourse 
amongst  these  different  colours  would  have  had  a  tendency  to  bring  them 
to  one  standard  complexion,  when  no  computable  space  of  time,  nor  any 
conceivable  circumstances  conld  restore  them  again  ;  re-producing  all,  or 
either  of  the  distinct  colours,  from  the  compound. 

That  customs  should  be  found  similar,  or  many  of  them  exactly  the  same, 
on  the  most  opposite  parts  of  the  Continent,  is  still  less  surprising;  for  these 
will  travel  more  rapidly,  being  more  easily  taught  at  Treaties  and  festivals  be 
tween  hostile  bands,  or  disseminated  by  individuals  travelling  through  neigh 
bouring  tribes,  whilst  languages  and  blood  require  more  time  for  their  ad 
mixture. 

That  the  languages  of  the  North  American  Indians,  should  be  found  to  be 
so  numerous  at  this  day,  and  so  very  many  of  them  radically  different,  is  a 
subject  of  great  surprise,  and  unaccountable,  whether  these  people  are  de 
rived  from  one  individual  stock,  or  from  one  hundred,  or  one  thousand. 

Though  languages  like  colour  and  like  customs,  are  calculated  to  assimi 
late,  under  the  circumstances  above  named  ;  yet  it  is  evident  that,  (if  derived 
from  a  variety  of  sources),  they  have  been  unaccountably  kept  more  distinct 
than  the  others ;  and  if  from  one  root,  have  still  more  unaccountably  dis- 
similated  and  divided  into  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty,  two-thirds  of  which, 
T  venture  to  say,  are  entirely  and  radically  distinct ;  whilst  amongst  the 
people  who  speak  them,  there  is  a  reigning  similarity  in  looks,  in  features  and 
in  customs,  which  would  go  very  far  to  pronounce  them  one  family,  by  nature 
or  by  convention. 

I  do  not  believe,  with  some  very  learned  and  distinguished  writers,  that 
the  languages  of  the  North  American  Indians  can  be  traced  to  one  root  or 
to  three  or  four,  or  any  number  of  distinct  idioms ;  nor  do  I  believe  all,  or 
any  one  of  them,  will  ever  be  fairly  traced  to  a  foreign  origin. 

If  the  looks  and  customs  of  the  Jews,  are  decidedly  found  and  identified 
with  these  people — and  also  those  of  the  Japanese,  and  Calmuc  Tartars,  I 
think  we  have  but  little,  if  any  need  of  looking  for  the  Hebrew  language,  or 
either  of  the  others,  for  the  reasons  that  1  have  already  given  ;  for  the  feeble 
colonies  of  these,  or  any  other  foreign  people  that  might  have  fallen  by  ac 
cident  upon  the  shores  of  this  great  Continent,  or  who  might  have  approached 
it  by  Behring's  Straits,  have  been  too  feeble  to  give  a  language  to  fifteen  or 
twenty  millions  of  people,  or  in  fact  to  any  portion  of  them  ;  being  in  all 
probability,  in  great  part  cut  to  pieces  and  destroyed  by  a  natural  foe  ;  leav 
ing  enough  perhaps,  who  had  intermarried,  to  innoculate  their  blood  and 
their  customs;  which  have  run,  like  a  drop  in  a  bucket,  and  slightly  tinc 
tured  the  character  of  tribes  who  have  sternly  resisted  their  languages,  which 


236 

would  naturally,   under   such   circumstances,   have  made   but   very    little 
impression. 

Such  I  consider  the  condition  of  the  Jews  in  North  America  ;  and  perhaps 
the  Scandanavians,  and  the  followers  of  Madoc,  who  by  some  means,  and 
some  period  that  I  cannot  name,  have  thrown  themselves  upon  the  shores  of 
this  country,  and  amongst  the  ranks  of  the  savages ;  where,  from  destructive 
wars  with  their  new  neighbours,  they  have  been  overpowered,  and  perhaps, 
with  the  exception  of  those  who  had  intermarried,  they  have  been  destroyed, 
yet  leaving  amongst  the  savages  decided  marks  of  their  character  ;  and  many 
of  their  peculiar  customs,  which  had  pleased,  and  been  adopted  by  the  savages, 
while  they  had  sternly  resisted  others  :  and  decidedly  shut  out  and  discarded 
their  language,  and  of  course  obliterated  everything  of  their  history. 

That  there  should  often  be  found  contiguous  to  each  other,  several  tribe& 
speaking  dialects  of  the  same  language,  is  a  matter  of  no  surprise  at  all ;  and 
wherever  such  is  the  case,  there  is  resemblance  enough  also,  in  looks  and 
customs,  to  show  that  they  are  parts  of  the  same  tribes,  which  have  com 
paratively  recently  severed  and  wandered  apart,  as  their  traditions  will 
generally  show ;  and  such  resemblances  are  often  found  and  traced,  nearly 
across  the  Continent,  and  have  been  accounted  for  in  some  of  my  former 
Letters.  Several  very  learned  gentlemen,  whose  opinions  I  would  treat 
with  the  greatest  respect,  have  supposed  that  all  the  native  languages  of 
America  were  traceable  to  three  or  four  roots  ;  a  position  which  I  will  venture 
to  say  will  be  an  exceedingly  difficult  one  for  them  to  maintain,  whilst  re 
maining  at  home  and  consulting  books,  in  the  way  that  too  many  theories 
are  supported  ;  and  one  infinitely  more  difficult  to  prove  if  they  travel 
amongst  the  different  tribes,  and  collect  their  own  information  as  they  travel.* 
I  am  quite  certain  that  I  have  found  in  a  number  of  instances,  tribes  who  have 
long  lived  neighbours  to  each  other,  and  who,  from  continued  intercourse, 
had  learned  mutually,  many  words  of  each  others  language,  and  adopted 
them  for  common  use  or  mottoes,  as  often,  or  oftener  than  we  introduce  the 
French  or  Latin  phrases  in  our  conversation ;  from  which  the  casual  visitor 

*  For  the  satisfaction  of  the  reader,  I  have  introduced  in  the  Appendix  to  this  Volume, 
Letter  B,  a  brief  vocabulary  of  the  languages  of  several  adjoining  tribes  in  the  North 
West,  from  which,  by  turning  to  it,  they  can  easily  draw  their  own  inferences.  These 
words  have  all  been  written  down  by  myself,  from  the  Indian's  mouths,  as  they  have  been 
correctly  translated  to  me  ;  and  I  think  it  will  at  once  be  decided,  that  there  is  very  little 
affinity  or  resemblance,  if  any,  between  them.  I  have  therein  given  a  sample  of  the  Black- 
foot  language,  yet,  of  that  immense  tribe  who  all  class  under  the  name  of  Blackfoot,  there 
are  the  Cotonnes  and  the  Grosventres  des  Prairies — whose  languages  are  entirely  distinct 
from  this — and  also  from  each  other — and  in  the  same  region,  and  neighbours  to  them,  are 
also  the  Chayennes— the  Knisteneaux,  the  Crows,  the  Shoshonees,  and  Pawnees  ;  all  of 
whose  languages  are  as  distinct,  and  as  widely  different,  as  those  that  I  have  given.  These 
facts,  I  think,  without  my  going  further,  will  fully  show  the  entire  dissimilarity  between 
these  languages,  and  support  me  to  a  certain  extent,  at  all  events,  in  the  opinion  I  have 
advanced  above. 


237 

to  one  of  these  tribes,  might  naturally  suppose  there  was  a  similarity  in  their 
languages ;  when  a  closer  examiner  would  find  that  the  idioms  and  structure 

o        o 

of  the  several  languages  were  entirely  distinct. 

I  believe  that  in  this  way,  the  world  who  take  but  a  superficial  glance  at 
them,  are,  and  will  be,  led  into  continual  error  on  this  interesting  subject ; 
one  that  invites,  and  well  deserves  from  those  learned  gentlemen,  a  fair  in 
vestigation  by  them,  on  the  spot ;  rather  than  so  limited  and  feeble  an  ex 
amination  as  /have  been  able  to  make  of  it,  or  that  they,  can  make,  in  their 
parlours,  at  so  great  a  distance  from  them,  and  through  such  channels  as 
they  are  obliged  to  look  to  for  their  information. 

Amongst  the  tribes  that  I  have  visited,  I  consider  that  thirty,  out  of  the 
forty-eight,  are  distinct  and  radically  different  in  their  languages,  and  eigh 
teen  are  dialects  of  some  three  or  four.  It  is  a  very  simple  thing  for  the  ofF- 
hand  theorists  of  the  scientific  world,  who  do  not  go  near  these  people,  to 
arrange  and  classify  them ;  and  a  very  clever  thing  to  simplify  the  subject, 
and  bring  it,  like  everything  else,  under  three  or  four  heads,  and  to  solve,  and 
resolve  it,  by  as  many  simple  rules. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  be  able  to  give  to  this  subject,  or  to  that  of  the  proba 
ble  origin  of  these  people,  the  close  investigation  that  these  interesting  sub 
jects  require  and  deserve  ;  yet  I  have  travelled  and  observed  enough  amongst 
them,  and  collected  enough,  to  enable  me  to  form  decided  opinions  of  my 
own  ;  and  in  my  conviction,  have  acquired  confidence  enough  to  tell  them,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  recommend  to  the  Government  or  institutions  of  my  own 
country,  to  employ  men  of  science,  such  as  I  have  mentioned,  and  protect 
them  in  their  visits  to  these  tribes,  where  "  the  truth,  and  the  whole  truth" 
may  be  got ;  and  the  languages  of  all  the  tribes  that  are  yet  in  existence, 
(many  of  which  are  just  now  gasping  them  out  in  their  last  breath,)  may 
be  snatched  and  preserved  from  oblivion ;  as  well  as  their  looks  and  their 
customs,  to  the  preservation  of  which  my  labours  have  been  principally 
devoted. 

I  undertake  to  say  to  such  gentlemen,  who  are  enthusiastic  and  qualified, 
that  here  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  subjects  that  they  could  spend  the 
energies  of  their  valuable  lives  upon,  and  one  the  most  sure  to  secure  for 
them  that  immortality  for  which  it  is  natural  and  fair  for  all  men  to  look. 

From  what  has  been  said  in  the  foregoing  Letters,  it  will  have  been  seen 
that  there  are  three  divisions  under  which  the  North  American  Indians  may 
be  justly  considered ;  those  who  are  dead — those  who  are  dying,  and  those  who 
are  yet  living  and  flourishing  in  their  primitive  condition.  Of  the  dead,  I  have 
little  to  say  at  present,  and  I  can  render  them  no  service — of  the  living,  there 
is  much  to  be  said,  and  I  shall  regret  that  the  prescribed  limits  of  these 
epistles,  will  forbid  me  saying  all  that  I  desire  to  say  of  them  and  their 
condition. 

The  present  condition  of  these  once  numerous  people,  contrasted  with 
what,  it  was,  and  what  it  is  soon  to  be,  is  a  subject  of  curious  interest,  as  well 


238 

as  some  importance,  to  the  civilized  world — a  subject  well  entitled  to  the 
attention,  and  very  justly  commanding  the  sympathies  of,  enlightened  com 
munities.  There  are  abundant  proofs  recorded  in  the  history  of  this  country, 
and  to  which  I  need  not  at  this  time  more  particularly  refer,  to  shew  that 
this  very  numerous  and  respectable  part  of  the  human  family,  which  occu 
pied  the  different  parts  of  North  America,  at  the  time  of  its  first  settlement 
by  the  Anglo-Americans,  contained  more  than  fourteen  millions,  who  have 
been  reduced  since  that  time,  and  undoubtedly  in  consequence  of  that  set 
tlement,  to  something  less  than  two  millions  ! 

This  is  a  startling  fact,  and  one  which  carries  with  it,  if  it  be  the  truth, 
other  facts  and  their  results,  which  are  equally  startling,  and  such  as  every 
inquiring  mind  should  look  into.  The  first  deduction  that  the  mind  draws 
from  such  premises,  is  the  rapid  declension  of  these  people,  which  must  at 
that  rate  be  going  on  at  this  day  ;  and  sooner  or  later,  lead  to  the  most  me 
lancholy  result  of  their  final  extinction. 

Of  this  sad  termination  of  their  existence,  there  need  not  be  a  doubt  in 
the  minds  of  any  man  who  will  read  the  history  of  their  former  destruction  ; 
contemplating  them  swept  already  from  two-thirds  of  the  Continent ;  and 
who  will  then  travel  as  I  have  done,  over  the  vast  extent  of  Frontier,  and 
witness  the  modes  by  which  the  poor  fellows  are  falling,  whilst  contending 
for  their  rights,  with  acquisitive  white  men.  Such  a  reader,  and  such  a 
traveller,  1  venture  to  say,  if  he  has  not  the  heart  of  a  brute,  will  shed  tears 
for  them ;  and  be  ready  to  admit  that  their  character  and  customs,  are  at 
this  time,  a  subject  of  interest  and  importance,  and  rendered  peculiarly  so 
from  the  facts  that  they  are  dying  at  the  hands  of  their  Christian  neighbours  ; 
and,  from  all  past  experience,  that  there  will  probably  be  no  effectual  plan 
instituted,  that  will  save  the  remainder  of  them  from  a  similar  fate.  As  they 
stand  at  this  day,  there  may  be  four  or  five  hundred  thousand  in  their  prim 
itive  state ;  and  a  million  and  a  half,  that  may  be  said  to  be  semi-civilized, 
contending  with  the  sophistry  of  white  men,  amongst  whom  they  are  tim 
idly  and  unsuccessfully  endeavouring  to  hold  up  their  heads,  and  aping 
their  modes  ;  whilst  they  are  swallowing  their  poisons,  and  yielding  their 
lands  and  their  lives,  to  the  superior  tact  and  cunning  of  their  merciless 
cajolers. 

In  such  parts  of  their  community,  their  customs  are  uninteresting  ;  being 
but  poor  and  ridiculous  imitations  of  those  that  are  bad  enough,  those 
practiced  by  their  first  teachers — but  in  their  primitive  state,  their  modes  of 
life  and  character,  before  they  are  changed,  are  subjects  of  curious  interest, 
and  all  that  I  have  aimed  to  preserve.  Their  personal  appearance,  their 
dress,  and  many  of  their  modes  of  life,  I  have  already  described. 

For  their  Government,  which  is  purely  such  as  has  been  dictated  to  them 
by  Nature  and  necessity  alone,  they  are  indebted  to  no  foreign,  native  or 
civilized  nation.  For  their  religion,  which  is  simply  Theism,  they  are  in 
debted  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  not  to  the  Christian  world.  For  their  modes 


239 

of  war,  they  owe  nothing  to  enlightened  nations — using  only  those  weapons, 
and  those  modes  which  are  prompted  by  nature,  and  within  the  means  of 
their  rude  manufactures. 

If,  therefore,  we  do  not  find  in  their  systems  of  polity  and  jurisprudence, 
the  efficacy  and  justice  that  are  dispensed  in  civilized  institutions — if  we  do 
not  find  in  their  religion  the  light  and  the  grace  that  flow  from  Christian 
faith — if  in  wars  they  are  less  honourable,  and  wage  them  upon  a  system  of 
"  murderous  stratagem"  it  is  the  duty  of  the  enlightened  world,  who  ad 
minister  justice  in  a  better  way — who  worship  in  a  more  acceptable  form — 
and  who  war  on  a  more  honourable  scale,  to  make  great  allowance  for  their 
ignorance,  and  yield  to  their  credit,  the  fact,  that  if  their  systems  are  less 
wise,  they  are  often  more  free  from  injustice — from  hypocrisy  and  from 
carnage. 

Their  Governments,  if  they  have  any  (for  I  am  almost  disposed  to  ques 
tion  the  propriety  of  applying  the  term),  are  generally  alike  ;  each  tribe 
having  at  its  head,  a  chief  (and  most  generally  a  war  and  civil  chief),  whom 
it  would  seem,  alternately  hold  the  ascendency,  as  the  circumstances  of 
peace  or  war  may  demand  their  respective  services.  These  chiefs,  whose 
titles  are  generally  hereditary,  hold  their  offices  only  as  long  as  their  ages 
will  enable  them  to  perform  the  duties  of  them  by  taking  the  lead  in  war- 
parties,  &c.,  after  which  they  devolve  upon  the  next  incumbent,  who  is  the 
eldest  son  of  the  chief,  provided  he  is  decided  by  the  other  chiefs  to  be  as 
worthy  of  it  as  any  other  young  man  in  the  tribe — in  default  of  which,  a 
chief  is  elected  from  amongst  the  sub-chiefs  ;  so  that  the  office  is  hereditary 
on  condition,  and  elective  in  emergency. 

The  chief  has  no  controul  over  the  life  or  limbs,  or  liberty  of  his  subjects, 
nor  other  power  whatever,  excepting  that  of  influence  which  he  gains  by  his 
virtues,  and  his  exploits  in  war,  and  which  induces  his  warriors  and  braves 
to  follow  him,  as  he  leads  them  to  battle — or  to  listen  to  him  when  he  speaks 
and  advises  in  council.  In  fact,  he  is  no  more  than  a  leader,  whom  every 
young  warrior  may  follow,  or  turn  about  and  go  back  from,  as  he  pleases, 
if  he  is  willing  to  meet  the  disgrace  that  awaits  him,  who  deserts  his  chief 
in  the  hour  of  danger. 

It  may  be  a  difficult  question  to  decide,  whether  their  Government  savours 
most  of  a  democracy  or  an  aristocracy  ;  it  is  in  some  respects  purely  demo 
cratic — and  in  others  aristocratic.  The  influence  of  names  and  families  is 
strictly  kept  up,  and  their  qualities  and  relative  distinctions  preserved  in 
heraldric  family  Arms  ;  yet  entirely  severed,  and  free  from  influences  of 
wealth,  which  is  seldom  amassed  by  any  persons  in  Indian  communities ; 
and  most  sure  to  slip  from  the  hands  of  chiefs,  or  others  high  in  office,  who 
are  looked  upon  to  be  liberal  and  charitable ;  and  oftentimes,  for  the  sake 
of  popularity,  render  themselves  the  poorest,  and  most  meanly  dressed  and 
equipped  of  any  in  the  tribe. 

These  people  have  no  written  laws,  nor  others,  save  the  penalties  affixed 


240 

to  certain  crimes,  by  long-standing  custom,  or  by  the  decisions  of  the  chiefs 
in  council,  who  form  a  sort  of  Court  and  Congress  too,  for  the  investigation 
of  crimes,  and  transaction  of  the  public  business.  For  the  sessions  of  these 
dignitaries,  each  tribe  has,  in  the  middle  of  their  village,  a  Government  or 
council-house,  where  the  chiefs  often  try  and  convict,  for  capital  offences — 
leaving  the  punishment  to  be  inflicted  by  the  nearest  of  kin,  to  whom  all 
eyes  of  the  nation  are  turned,  and  who  has  no  means  of  evading  it  without 
suffering  disgrace  in  his  tribe.  For  this  purpose,  the  custom,  which  is  the 
common  law  of  the  land,  allows  him  to  use  any  means  whatever,  that  he 
may  deem  necessary  to  bring  the  thing  effectually  about ;  and  he  is  allowed 
to  waylay  and  shoot  down  the  criminal — so  that  punishment  is  certain  and 
cruel,  and  as  effective  from  the  hands  of  a  feeble,  as  from  those  of  a  stout 
man,  and  entirely  beyond  the  hope  that  often  arises  from  the  "  glorious  un 
certainty  of  the  law." 

As  I  have  in  a  former  place  said,  cruelty  is  one  of  the  leading  traits  of  the 
Indian's  character ;  and  a  little  familiarity  with  their  modes  of  life  and  govern 
ment  will  soon  convince  the  reader,  that  certainty  and  cruelty  in  punish 
ments  are  requisite  (where  individuals  undertake  to  inflict  the  penalties  of 
the  laws),  in  order  to  secure  the  lives  and  property  of  individuals  in  society. 

In  the  treatment  of  their  prisoners  also,  in  many  tribes,  they  are  in  the 
habit  of  inflicting  the  most  appalling  tortures,  for  which  the  enlightened 
world  are  apt  to  condemn  them  as  cruel  and  unfeeling  in  the  extreme  ;  with 
out  stopping  to  learn  that  in  every  one  of  these  instances,  these  cruelties  are 
practiced  by  way  of  retaliation,  by  individuals  or  families  of  the  tribe,  whose 
relatives  have  been  previously  dealt  with  in  a  similar  way  by  their  enemies, 
and  whose  manes  they  deem  it  their  duty  to  appease  by  this  horrid  and 
cruel  mode  of  retaliation. 

And  in  justice  to  the  savage,  the  reader  should  yet  know,  that  amongst 
these  tribes  that  torture  their  prisoners,  these  cruelties  are  practiced  but  upon 
the  few  whose  lives  are  required  to  atone  for  those  who  have  been  similarly 
dealt  with  by  their  enemies,  and  that  the  remainder  are  adopted  into  the 
tribe,  by  marrying  the  widows  whose  husbands  have  fallen  in  battle,  in 
which  capacity  they  are  received  and  respected  like  others  of  the  tribe,  and 
enjoy  equal  rights  and  immunities.  And  before  we  condemn  them  too  far, 
we  should  yet  pause  and  enquire  whether  in  the  enlightened  world  we  are 
not  guilty  of  equal  cruelties — whether  in  the  ravages  and  carnage  of  war, 
and  treatment  of  prisoners,  we  practice  any  virtue  superior  to  this  ;  and 
whether  the  annals  of  history  which  are  familiar  to  all,  do  not  furnish 
abundant  proof  of  equal  cruelty  to  prisoners  of  war,  as  well  as  in  many 
instances,  to  the  members  of  our  own  respective  communities.  It  is  a  re 
markable  fact  and  one  well  recorded  in  history,  as  it  deserves  to  be,  to  the 
honour  of  the  savage,  that  no  instance  has  been  known  of  violence  to  their 
captive  females,  a  virtue  yet  to  be  learned  in  civilized  warfare. 

If  their  punishments  are  certain  and  cruel,  they  have  the  merit  of  being 


241 

few,  and  those  confined  chiefly  to  their  enemies.  It  is  natural  to  be  cruel  to 
enemies  ;  and  in  this,  I  do  not  see  that  the  improvements  of  the  enligh 
tened  and  Christian  world  have  yet  elevated  them  so  very  much  above  the 
savage.  To  their  friends,  there  are  no  people  on  earth  that  are  more  kind  ; 
and  cruelties  and  punishments  (except  for  capital  offences)  are  amongst 
themselves,  entirely  dispensed  with.  No  man  in  their  communities  is  subject 
to  any  restraints  upon  his  liberty,  or  to  any  corporal  or  degrading  punish 
ment  ;  each  one  valuing  his  limbs,  and  his  liberty  to  use  them  as  his  inviolable 
right,  which  no  power  in  the  tribe  can  deprive  him  of ;  whilst  each  one  holds 
the  chief  as  amenable  to  him  as  the  most  humble  individual  in  the  tribe. 

On  an  occasion  when  I  had  interrogated  a  Sioux  chief,  on  the  Upper 
Missouri,  about  their  Government — their  punishments  and  tortures  of  pri 
soners,  for  which  I  had  freely  condemned  them  for  the  cruelty  of  the  practice, 
he  took  occasion  when  I  had  got  through,  to  ask  me  some  questions  relative 
to  modes  in  the  civilized  world,  which,  with  his  comments  upon  them,  were 
nearly  as  follow  ;  and  struck  me,  as  I  think  they  must  every  one,  with  great 
force. 

"  Among  white  people,  nobody  ever  take  your  wife — take  your  children 
— take  your  mother,  cut  off  nose — cut  eyes  out — burn  to  death  ?"  No  ! 
"Then  you  no  cut  off  nose — you  no  cut  out  eyes — you  no  burn  to  death — 
very  good." 

He  also  told  me  he  had  often  heard  that  white  people  hung  their  crimi 
nals  by  the  neck  and  choked  them  to  death  like  dogs,  and  those  their  own 
people  ;  to  which  I  answered,  "  yes."  He  then  told  me  he  had  learned  that 
they  shut  each  other  up  in  prisons,  where  they  keep  them  a  great  part  of 
their  lives  because  they  cant  pay  money  !  I  replied  in  the  affirmative  to 
this,  which  occasioned  great  surprise  and  excessive  laughter,  even  amongst 
the  women.  He  told  me  that  he  had  been  to  our  Fort,  at  Council  Bluffs, 
where  we  had  a  great  many  warriors  and  braves,  and  he  saw  three  of  them 
taken  out  on  the  prairies  and  tied  to  a  post  and  whipped  almost  to  death, 
and  he  had  been  told  that  they  submit  to  all  this  to  get  a  little  money, 
"  yes."  He  said  he  had  been  told,  that  when  all  the  white  people  were 
born,  their  white  medicine-men  had  to  stand  by  and  look  on — that  in  the 
Indian  country  the  women  would  not  allow  that — they  would  be  ashamed — 
that  he  had  been  along  the  Frontier,  and  a  good  deal  amongst  the 
white  people,  and  he  had  seen  them  whip  their  little  children — a  thing  that 
is  very  cruel — he  had  heard  also,  from  several  white  medicine-men,  that  the 
Great  Spirit  of  the  white  people  was  the  child  of  a  white  woman,  and  that 
he  was  at  last  put  to  death  by  the  white  people  !  This  seemed  to  be  a  thing 
that  he  had  not  been  able  to  comprehend,  and  he  concluded  by  saying,  "  the 
Indians'  Great  Spirit  got  no  mother — the  Indians  no  kill  him,  he  never  die." 
He  put  me  a  chapter  of  other  questions,  as  to  the  trespasses  of  the  white  peo 
ple  on  their  lands — their  continual  corruption  of  the  morals  of  their  women 
— and  digging  open  the  Indians'  graves  to  get  their  bones,  &c_  To  all  of 

VOL.    II.  I    I 


242 

which  I  was  compelled  to  reply  in  the  affirmative,  and  quite  glad  to  close 
my  note-book,  and  quietly  to  escape  from  the  throng  that  had  collected 
around  me,  and  saying  (though  to  myself  and  silently),  that  these  and  an 
hundred  other  vices  belong  to  the  civilized  world,  and  are  practiced  upon  (but 
certainly,  in  no  instance,  reciprocated  by)  the  "  cruel  and  relentless  savage." 

Of  their  modes  of  war,  of  which,  a  great  deal  has  been  written  by  other 
travellers — I  could  say  much,  but  in  the  present  place,  must  be  brief.  All 
wars,  offensive  or  defensive,  are  decided  on  by  the  chiefs  and  doctors  in 
council,  where  majority  decides  all  questions.  After  their  resolve,  the  chief 
conducts  and  leads — his  pipe  with  the  reddened  stem  is  sent  through  the 
tribe  by  his  runners,  and  every  man  who  consents  to  go  to  war,  draws  the 
smoke  once  through  its  stem  ;  he  is  then  a  volunteer,  like  all  of  their  soldiers 
in  war,  and  bound  by  no  compulsive  power,  except  that  of  pride,  and  dread 
of  the  disgrace  of  turning  back.  After  the  soldiers  are  enlisted,  the  war- 
dance  is  performed  in  presence  of  the  whole  tribe ;  when  each  warrior  in 
warrior's  dress,  with  weapons  in  hand,  dances  up  separately,  and  striking 
the  reddened  post,  thereby  takes  the  solemn  oath  not  to  desert  his  party. 

The  chief  leads  in  full  dress  to  make  himself  as  conspicuous  a  mark  as 
possible  for  his  enemy  ;  whilst  his  men  are  chiefly  denuded,  and  their  limbs 
and  faces  covered  with  red  earth  or  vermilion,  and  oftentimes  with  charcoal 
and  grease,  so  as  completely  to  disguise  them,  even  from  the  knowledge  of 
many  of  their  intimate  friends. 

At  the  close  of  hostilities,  the  two  parties  are  often  brought  together  by 
a  flag  of  truce,  where  they  sit  in  Treaty,  and  solemnize  by  smoking  through 
the  calumet  or  pipe  of  peace,  as  I  have  before  described ;  and  after  that, 
their  warriors  and  braves  step  forward,  with  the  pipe  of  peace  in  the  left 
hand,  and  the  war-club  in  the  right,  and  dance  around  in  a  circle — going 
through  many  curious  and  exceedingly  picturesque  evolutions  in  the  "pipe 
of  peace  dance." 

To  each  other  I  have  found  these  people  kind  and  honourable,  and  en 
dowed  with  every  feeling  of  parental,  of  filial,  and  conjugal  affection,  that 
is  met  in  more  enlightened  communities.  I  have  found  them  moral  and 
religious  :  and  I  am  bound  to  give  them  great  credit  for  their  zeal,  which  is 
often  exhibited  in  their  modes  of  worship,  however  insufficient  they  may 
seem  to  us,  or  may  be  in  the  estimation  of  the  Great  Spirit. 

I  have  heard  it  said  by  some  very  good  men,  and  some  who  have  even 
been  preaching  the  Christian  religion  amongst  them,  that  they  have  no  reli 
gion — that  all  their  zeal  in  their  worship  of  the  Great  Spirit  was  but  the 
foolish  excess  of  ignorant  superstition — that  their  humble  devotions  and 
supplications  to  the  Sun  and  the  Moon,  where  many  of  them  suppose  that 
the  Great  Spirit  resides,  were  but  the  absurd  rantings  of  idolatry.  To  such 
opinions  as  these  I  never  yet  gave  answer,  nor  drew  other  instant  inferences 
from  them,  than,  that  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  I  pitied  the  persons  who 
gave  them. 


243 

I  fearlessly  assert  to  the  world,  (and  I  defy  contradiction,)  that  the  North 
American  Indian  is  everywhere,  in  his  native  state,  a  highly  moral  and  reli 
gious  being,  endowed  by  his  Maker,  with  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  some 
great  Author  of  his  being,  and  the  Universe  ;  in  dread  of  whose  displeasure 
he  constantly  lives,  with  the  apprehension  before  him,  of  a  future  state, 
where  he  expects  to  be  rewarded  or  punished  according  to  the  merits  he  has 
gained  or  forfeited  in  this  world. 

I  have  made  this  a  subject  of  unceasing  enquiry  during  all  my  travels, 
and  from  every  individual  Indian  with  whom  I  have  conversed  on  the  sub 
ject,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  and  most  pitiably  ignorant,  I  have  re 
ceived  evidence  enough,  as  well  as  from  their  numerous  and  humble  modes 
of  worship,  to  convince  the  mind,  and  elicit  the  confessions  of,  any  man 
whose  gods  are  not  beaver  and  muskrats'  skins — or  whose  ambition  is  not 
to  be  deemed  an  apostle,  or  himself,  their  only  redeemer. 

Morality  and  virtue,  1  venture  to  say,  the  civilized  world  need  not  under 
take  to  teach  them  ;  and  to  support  me  in  this,  I  refer  the  reader  to  the 
interesting  narrative  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parker,  amongst  the  tribes  through 
and  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  to  the  narratives  of  Captain  Bonneville, 
through  the  same  regions ;  and  also  to  the  reports  of  the  Reverend  Messrs. 
Spalding  and  Lee,  who  have  crossed  the  Mountains,  and  planted  their  little 
colony  amongst  them.  And  I  am  also  allowed  to  refer  to  the  account  given 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Beaver,  of  the  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Columbia  and 
the  Pacific  Coast. 

Of  their  extraordinary  modes  and  sincerity  of  worship,  I  speak  with  equal 
confidence  ;  and  although  I  am  compelled  to  pity  them  for  their  ignorance, 
I  am  bound  to  say  that  I  never  saw  any  other  people  of  any  colour,  who 
spend  so  much  of  their  lives  in  humbling  themselves  before,  and  worshipping 
the  Great  Spirit,  as  some  of  these  tribes  do,  nor  any  whom  I  would  not  as  soon 
suspect  of  insincerity  and  hypocrisy. 

Self-denial,  which  is  comparatively  a  word  of  no  meaning  in  the  en 
lightened  world  ;  and  self-torture  and  almost  self-immolation,  are  continual 
modes  of  appealing  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  his  countenance  and  forgiveness ; 
and  these,  not  in  studied  figures  of  rhetoric,  resounding  in  halls  and  syna 
gogues,  to  fill  and  astonish  the  ears  of  the  multitude  ;  but  humbly  cried  forth 
from  starved  stomachs  and  parched  throats,  from  some  lone  and  favourite 
haunts,  where  the  poor  penitents  crawl  and  lay  with  their  faces  in  the  dirt  from 
day  to  day,  and  day  to  day,  sobbing  forth  their  humble  confessions  of  their 
sins,  and  their  earnest  implorations  for  divine  forgiveness  and  mercy. 

I  have  seen  man  thus  prostrating  himself  before  his  Maker,  and  worship 
ping  as  Nature  taught  him  ;  and  I  have  seen  mercenary  white  man  with  his 
bottle  and  its  associate  vices,  unteaching  them  ;  and  after  that,  good  and 
benevolent  and  pious  men,  devotedly  wearing  out  their  valuable  lives,  all  but 
in  vain,  endeavouring  to  break  down  confirmed  habits  of  cultivated  vices 
and  dissipation,  and  to  engraft  upon  them  the  blessings  of  Christianity  and 

i  i  2 


244 

civilization.  I  have  visited  most  of  the  stations,  and  am  acquainted  with 
many  of  the  excellent  missionaries,  who,  with  their  families  falling  by  the 
diseases  of  the  country  about  them,  are  zealously  labouring  to  benefit  these 
benighted  people;  but  I  have,  with  thousands  and  millions  of  others,  to 
deplore  the  ill  success  with  which  their  painful  and  faithful  labours  have 
generally  been  attended. 

This  failure  I  attribute  not  to  the  want  of  capacity  on  the  part  of  the 
savage,  nor  for  lack  of  zeal  and  Christian  endeavours  of  those  who  have 
been  sent,  and  to  whom  the  eyes  of  the  sympathizing  part  of  the  world  have 
been  anxiously  turned,  in  hopes  of  a  more  encouraging  account.  The  mis 
fortune  has  been,  in  my  opinion,  that  these  efforts  have  mostly  been  made 
in  the  wrong  place — along  the  Frontier,  where  (though  they  have  stood 
most  in  need  of  Christian  advice  and  example)  they  have  been  the  least 
ready  to  hear  it  or  to  benefit  from  its  introduction ;  where  whiskey  has 
been  sold  for  twenty,  or  thirty,  or  fifty  years,  and  every  sort  of  fraud  and 
abuse  that  could  be  engendered  and  visited  upon  them,  and  amongst 
their  families,  by  ingenious,  money -making  white  man  ;  rearing  up  under  a 
burning  sense  of  injustice,  the  most  deadly  and  thwarting  prejudices,  which, 
and  which  alone,  in  my  opinion,  have  stood  in  the  way  of  the  introduction 
of  Christianity — of  agriculture,  and  everything  which  virtuous  society  has 
attempted  to  teach  them  ;  which  they  meet  and  suspect,  and  reject  as  some 
new  trick  or  enterprize  of  white  man,  which  is  to  redound  to  his  advantage 
rather  than  for  their  own  benefit. 

The  pious  missionary  finds  himself  here,  I  would  venture  to  say,  in  an  inde 
scribable  vicinity  of  mixed  vices  and  stupid  ignorance,  that  disgust  and  dis 
courage  him  ;  and  just  at  the  moment  when  his  new  theory,  which  has  been  at 
first  received  as  a  mystery  to  them,  is  about  to  be  successfully  revealed  and 
explained,  the  whiskey  bottle  is  handed  again  from  the  bushes  ;  and  the  poor 
Indian  (whose  perplexed  mind  is  just  ready  to  catch  the  brilliant  illumination 
of  Christianity),  grasps  it,  and,  like  too  many  people  in  the  enlightened 
world,  quiets  his  excited  feelings  with  its  soothing  draught,  embracing  most 
affectionately  the  friend  that  brings  him  the  most  sudden  relief  ;  and  is  con 
tented  to  fall  back,  and  linger — and  die  in  the  moral  darkness  that  is  about 
him. 

And  notwithstanding  the  great  waste  of  missionary  labours,  on  many  por 
tions  of  our  vast  Frontier,  there  have  been  some  instances  in  which  their 
efforts  have  been  crowned  with  signal  success,  (even  with  the  counteracting 
obstacles  that  have  stood  in  their  way),  of  which  instances  I  have  made  some 
mention  in  former  epistles. 

I  have  always  been,  and  still  am,  an  advocate  for  missionary  efforts 
amongst  these  people,  but  I  never  have  had  much  faith  in  the  success  of  any 
unless  they. could  be  made  amongst  the  tribes  in  their  primitive  state  ;  where, 

•  p    .  -i  O  f 

strong  arm  of  the  Government  could  be  extended  out  to  protect  them,  I 
believe  that  with  the  example  of  good  and  pious  men,  teaching  them  at  the 


245 

same  time,  agriculture  and  the  useful  arts,  much  could  be  done  with  these 
interesting  and  talented  people,  for  the  successful  improvement  of  their  moral 
and  physical  condition. 

I  have  ever  thought,  and  still  think,  that  the  Indian's  mind  is  a  beautiful 
blank, on  which  any  thing  might  be  written, if  the  right  mode  were  taken  todoit. 

Could  the  enlightened  and  virtuous  society  of  the  East,  have  been  brought 
in  contact  with  him  as  his  first  neighbours,  and  his  eyes  been  first  opened  to  im 
provements  and  habits  worthy  of  his  imitation  ;  and  could  religion  have  been 
taught  him  without  the  interference  of  the  counteracting  vices  by  which  he 
is  surrounded,  the  best  efforts  of  the  world  would  not  have  been  thrown  away 
upon  him,  nor  posterity  been  left  to  say,  in  future  ages,  when  he  and  his  race 
shall  have  been  swept  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  that  he  was  destined  by 
Heaven  to  be  unconverted  and  uncivilized. 

The  Indian's  calamity  is  surely  far  this  side  of  his  origin — his  misfortune 
has  been  in  his  education.  Ever  since  our  first  acquaintance  with  these 
people  on  the  Atlantic  shores,  have  we  regularly  advanced  upon  them  ;  and 
far  a-head  of  good  and  moral  society  have  their  first  teachers  travelled  (and 
are  yet  travelling),  with  vices  and  iniquities  so  horrible  as  to  blind  their  eyes 
for  ever  to  the  light  and  loveliness  of  virtue,  when  she  is  presented  to  them. 

It  is  in  the  bewildering  maze  of  this  moving  atmosphere  that  he,  in  his 
native  simplicity,  finds  himself  lost  amidst  the  ingenuity  and  sophistry  of  his 
new  acquaintance.  He  stands  amazed  at  the  arts  and  improvements  of  civi 
lized  life — his  proud  spirit  which  before  was  founded  on  his  ignorance,  droops, 
and  he  sinks  down  discouraged,  into  melancholy  and  despair  ;  and  at  that 
moment  grasps  the  bottle  (which  is  ever  ready),  to  soothe  his  anguished 
feelings  to  the  grave.  It  is  in  this  deplorable  condition  that  the  civilized 
world,  in  their  approach,  have  ever  found  him  ;  and  here  in  his  inevitable 
misery,  that  the  charity  of  the  world  has  been  lavished  upon  him,  and  reli 
gion  has  exhausted  its  best  efforts  almost  in  vain. 

Notwithstanding  this  destructive  ordeal,  through  which  all  the  border 
tribes  have  had  to  pass,  and  of  whom  I  have  spoken  but  in  general  terms, 
there  are  striking  and  noble  exceptions  on  the  Frontiers,  of  individuals,  and 
in  some  instances,  of  the  remaining  remnants  of  tribes,  who  have  followed 
the  advice  and  example  of  their  Christian  teachers  ;  who  have  entirely  dis 
carded  their  habits  of  dissipation,  and  successfully  outlived  the  dismal  wreck 
of  their  tribe — having  embraced,  and  are  now  preaching,  the  Christian  reli 
gion  ;  and  proving  by  the  brightest  example,  that  they  are  well  worthy  of 
the  sincere  and  well-applied  friendship  of  the  enlightened  world,  rather  than 
their  enmity  and  persecution. 

By  nature  they  are  decent  and  modest,  unassuming  and  inoffensive — and 
all  history  (which  I  could  quote  to  the  end  of  a  volume),  proves  them  to  have 
been  found  friendly  and  hospitable,  on  the  first  approach  of  white  people  to 
their  villages  on  all  parts  of  the  American  Continent — and  from  what  I  have 
seen,  (which  I  offer  as  proof,  rather  than  what  I  have  read),  I  am  willing  and 


246 

proud  to  add,  for  the  ages  who  are  only  to  read  of  these  people,  my  testi 
mony  to  that  which  was  given  by  the  immortal  Columbus,  who  wrote  back 
to  his  Royal  Master  and  Mistress,  from  his  first  position  on  the  new  Conti 
nent,  "  I  swear  to  your  Majesties,  that  there  is  not  a  better  people  in  the 
world  than  these ;  more  affectionate,  affable,  or  mild.  They  love  their 
neighbours  as  themselves,  and  they  always  speak  smilingly." 

They  are  ingenious  and  talented,  as  many  of  their  curious  manufactures 
will  prove,  which  are  seen  by  thousands  in  my  Collection. 

In  the  mechanic  arts  they  have  advanced  but  little,  probably  because  they 
have  had  but  little  use  for  them,  and  have  had  no  teachers  to  bring  them 
out.  In  the^ne  arts,  they  are  perhaps  still  more  rude,  and  their  productions 
are  very  few.  Their  materials  and  implements  that  they  work  with,  are  ex 
ceedingly  rare  and  simple ;  and  their  principal  efforts  at  pictorial  effects,  are 
found  on  their  buffalo  robes  ;  of  which  I  have  given  some  account  in  former 
Letters,  and  of  which  I  shall  herein  furnish  some  additional  information. 

I  have  been  unable  to  find  anything  like  a  system  of  hieroglyphic  writing 
amongst  them  ;  yet,  their  picture  writings  on  the  rocks,  and  on  their  robes, 
approach  somewhat  towards  it.  Of  the  former,  I  have  seen  a  vast  many  in 
the  course  of  my  travels  ;  and  I  have  satisfied  myself  that  they  are  gene 
rally  the  totems  (symbolic  names)  merely,  of  Indians  who  have  visited  those 
places,  and  from  a  similar  feeling  of  vanity  that  everywhere  belongs  to  man 
much  alike,  have  been  in  the  habit  of  recording  their  names  or  symbols,  such 
as  birds,  beasts,  or  reptiles  ;  by  which  each  family,  and  each  individual,  is 
generally  known,  as  white  men  are  in  the  habit  of  recording  their  names  at 
watering  places,  &c. 

Many  of  these  have  recently  been  ascribed  to  the  North-men,  who  proba 
bly  discovered  this  country  at  an  early  period,  and  have  been  extinguished 
by  the  savage  tribes.  1  might  have  subscribed  to  such  a  theory,  had  1  not 
at  the  Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  where  there  are  a  vast  number  of  these 
inscriptions  cut  in  the  solid  rock,  and  at  other  places  also,  seen  the 
Indian  at  work,  recording  his  totem  amongst  those  of  more  ancient  dates  ; 
which  convinced  me  that  they  had  been  progressively  made,  at  different 
ages,  and  without  any  system  that  could  be  called  hieroglyphic  writing. 

The  paintings  on  their  robes  are  in  many  cases  exceedingly  curious,  and 
generally  represent  the  exploits  of  their  military  lives,  which  they  are  proud 
of  recording  in  this  way  and  exhibiting  on  their  backs  as  they  walk. 

In  PLATES  306  and  307,  are  fac-similes  of  the  paintings  on  a  Crow 
robe,  which  hangs  in  my  Collection,  amongst  many  others  from  various 
tribes ;  exhibiting  the  different  tastes,  and  state  of  the  fine  arts,  in  the  dif 
ferent  tribes.  All  the  groups  on  these  two  plates,  are  taken  from  one 
robe  ;  and  on  the  original,  are  quite  picturesque,  from  the  great  variety  of 
vivid  colours  which  they  have  there  given  to  them.  The  reader  will  recollect 
the  robe  of  Mah-to-toh-pa,  which  I  described  in  the  First  Volume  of  this 
work.  And  he  will  find  here,  something  very  similar,  the  battles  of  a  dis- 


306 


."•07 


'':  Vvtrs.sc 


308 


247 

tinguished  war-chiefs  life  ;  all  pourtrayed  by  his  own  hand,  and  displayed 
on  his  back  as  he  walks,  where  all  can  read,  and  all  of  course  are  challenged 
to  deny.* 

In  PLATE  308,  are  fac-simile  outlines  from  about  one-half  of  a  group  on 
a  Pawnee  robe,  also  hanging  in  the  exhibition  ;  representing  a  procession  of 
doctors  or  medicine-men,  when  one  of  them,  the  foremost  one,  is  giving  free 
dom  to  his  favourite  horse.  This  is  a  very  curious  custom,  which  I  found 
amongst  many  of  the  tribes,  and  is  done  by  his  announcing  to  all  of  his 
fraternity,  that  on  a  certain  day,  he  is  going  to  give  liberty  to  his  faithful 
horse  that  has  longest  served  him,  and  he  expects  them  all  to  be  present ;  at 
the  time  and  place  appointed,  they  all  appear  on  horseback,  most  fantasti 
cally  painted,  and  dressed,  as  well  as  armed  and  equipped  ;  when  the  owner 
of  the  horse  leads  the  procession,  and  drives  before  him  his  emancipated 
horse,  which  is  curiously  painted  and  branded  ;  which  he  holds  in  check 
with  a  long  laso.  When  they  have  arrived  at  the  proper  spot  on  the  prairie, 
the  ceremony  takes  place,  of  turning  it  loose,  and  giving  it,  it  would  seem, 
as  a  sort  of  sacrifice  to  the  Great  Spirit.  This  animal  after  this,  takes  his 
range  amongst  the  bands  of  wild  horses ;  and  if  caught  by  the  laso,  as  is 
often  the  case,  is  discharged,  under  the  superstitious  belief  that  it  belongs  to 
the  Great  Spirit,  and  not  with  impunity  to  be  appropriated  by  them. 

Besides  this  curious  custom,  there  are  very  many  instances  where  these  ma 
gicians,  (the  avails  of  whose  practice  enable  them  to  do  it,  in  order  to  enthral 
the  ignorant  and  superstitious  minds  of  their  people,  as  well  as,  perhaps,  to 
quiet  their  own  apprehensions,)  sacrifice  to  the  Great  or  Evil  Spirit,  their 
horses  and  dogs,  by  killing  them  instead  of  turning  them  loose.  These 
sacrifices  are  generally  made  immediately  to  their  medicine-bags,  or  to  their 
family -medicine,  which  every  family  seems  to  have  attached  to  their  house 
hold,  in  addition  to  that  which  appropriately  belongs  to  individuals.  And 
in  making  these  sacrifices,  and  all  gifts  to  the  Great  Spirit,  there  is  one 
thing  yet  to  be  told — that  whatever  gift  is  made,  whether  a  horse,  a  dog, 
or  other  article,  it  is  sure  to  be  the  best  of  its  kind,  that  the  giver  possesses, 
otherwise  he  subjects  himself  to  disgrace  in  his  tribe,  and  to  the  ill-will  of  the 
power  he  is  endeavouring  to  conciliate. f 

In  PLATE  309,  there  is  a/ac-simi/ecopy  of  the  paintings  on  another  Paw 
nee  robe,  the  property  and  the  designs  of  a  distinguished  doctor  or  medicine 
man.  In  the  centre  he  has  represented  himself  in  full  dress  on  his  favourite 

*  The  reader  will  bear  it  in  mind,  that  these  drawings,  as  well  as  all  those  of  the  kind 
that  have  heretofore  been  given,  and  those  that  are  to  follow,  have  been  correctly  traced 
with  a  Camera,  from  the  robes  and  other  works  of  the  Indians  belonging  to  my  Indian 
Museum. 

t  Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  their  Tour  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  have  given  an  account 
of  a  Mandan  chief,  who  had  sacrificed  seventeen  horses  to  his  medicine-bag — to  conciliate 
the  good  will  of  the  Great  Spirit.  And  I  have  met  many  instances,  where,  while  boasting 
to  me  of  their  exploits  and  their  liberality,  they  have  claimed  to  have  given  several  of  their 
horses  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  as  many  to  white  men  ! 


248 

horse ;  and,  at  the  top  and  bottom,  it  would  seem,  he  has  endeavoured  to 
set  up  his  claims  to  the  reputation  of  a  warrior,  with  the  heads  of  seven 
victims  which  he  professes  to  have  slain  in  battle.  On  the  sides  there  are 
numerous  figures,  very  curiously  denoting  his  profession,  where  he  is  vomit 
ing  and  purging  his  patients,  with  herbs  ;  where  also  he  has  represented  his 
medicine  or  totem,  the  Bear.  And  also  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  the  differ 
ent  phases  of  the  moon,  which  these  magicians  look  to  with  great  dependence 
for  the  operation  of  their  charms  and  mysteries  in  effecting  the  cure  of  their 
patients. 

In  PLATE  310,  is  a  further  exemplification  of  symbolic  representations, 
as  well  as  of  the  state  of  the  arts  of  drawing  and  design  amongst  these 
rude  people.  This  curious  chart  is  a  fac-simile  copy  of  an  Indian  song, 
which  was  drawn  on  a  piece  of  birch  bark,  about  twice  the  size  of  the  plate, 
and  used  by  the  Chippeways  preparatory  to  a  medicine- hunt,  as  they  term 
it.  For  the  bear,  the  moose,  the  beaver,  and  nearly  every  animal  they  hunt 
for,  they  have  certain  seasons  to  commence,  and  previous  to  which,  they 
"  make  medicine"  for  several  days,  to  conciliate  the  bear  (or  other)  Spirit, 
to  ensure  a  successful  season.  For  this  purpose,  these  doctors,  who  are  the 
only  persons,  generally,  who  are  initiated  into  these  profound  secrets,  sing 
forth,  with  the  beat  of  the  drum,  the  songs  which  are  written  in  characters  on 
these  charts,  in  which  all  dance  and  join  in  the  chorus  ;  although  they  are  ge 
nerally  as  ignorant  of  the  translation  and  meaning  of  the  song,  as  a  merepassing 
traveller ;  and  which  they  have  no  means  of  learning,  except  by  extraordinary 
claims  upon  the  tribe,  for  their  services  as  warriors  and  hunters ;  and  then 
by  an  extraordinary  fee  to  be  given  to  the  mystery-men,  who  alone  can 
reveal  them,  and  that  under  the  most  profound  injunctions  of  secrecy.  I  was 
not  initiated  far  enough  in  this  tribe,  to  explain  the  mysteries  that  are  hidden 
on  this  little  chart,  though  I  heard  it  sung  over,  and  listened,  (I  am  sure)  at 
least  one  hour,  before  they  had  sung  it  all. 

Of  these  kinds  of  symbolic  writings,  and  totems,  such  as  are  given  in 
PLATE  311,  recorded  on  rocks  and  trees  in  the  country,  a  volume  might  be 
filled  ;  and  from  the  knowledge  which  I  have  been  able  to  obtain  of  them, 
I  doubt  whether  I  should  be  able  to  give  with  them  all,  much  additional  in 
formation,  to  that  which  I  have  briefly  given  in  these  few  simple  instances. 
Their  picture  writing,  which  is  found  on  their  robes,  their  wigwams,  and 
different  parts  of  their  dress,  is  also  voluminous  and  various ;  and  can  be 
best  studied  by  the  curious,  on  the  numerous  articles  in  the  Museum,  where 
they  have  the  additional  interest  of  having  been  traced  by  the  Indian's  own 
hand. 

In  PLATE  312,  is  also  a.  fac-simile  of  a  Mandan  robe,  with  a  representa 
tion  of  the  sun,  most  wonderfully  painted  upon  it.  This  curious  robe,  which 
was  a  present  from  an  esteemed  friend  of  mine  amongst  those  unfortunate 
people,  is  now  in  my  Collection  ;  where  it  may  speak  for  itself,  after  this 
brief  introduction. 


G.  C 


311 


312 


249 

From  these  brief  hints,  which  I  have  too  hastily  thrown  together,  it  will 
be  seen  that  these  people  are  ingenious,  and  have  much  in  their  modes  as  well 
as  in  their  manners,  to  enlist  the  attention  of  the  merely  curious,  even  if  they 
should  not  be  drawn  nearer  to  them  by  feelings  of  sympathy  and  pity  for 
their  existing  and  approaching  misfortunes. 

But  he  who  can  travel  amongst  them,  or  even  sit  down  in  his  parlour,  with 
his  map  of  North  America  before  him,  with  Halkett's  Notes  on  the  History  of 
the  North  American  Indians  (and  several  other  very  able  works  that  have 
been  written  on  their  character  and  history),  and  fairly  and  truly  contem 
plate  the  system  of  universal  abuse,  that  is  hurrying  such  a  people  to  utter 
destruction,  will  find  enough  to  enlist  all  his  sympathies,  and  lead  him  to 
cultivate  a  more  general  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  their  true  character. 

He  who  will  sit  and  contemplate  that  vast  Frontier,  where,  by  the  past 
policy  of  the  Government,  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  of  these  poor 
people,  (who  had  just  got  initiated  into  the  mysteries  and  modes  of  civilized 
life,  surrounded  by  examples  of  industry  and  agriculture  which  they  were 
beginning  to  adopt),  have  been  removed  several  hundred  miles  to  the  West, 
to  meet  a  second  siege  of  the  whiskey-sellers  and  traders  in  the  wilderness, 
to  whose  enormous  exactions  their  semi-civilized  habits  and  appetites  have 
subjected  them,  will  assuredly  pity  them.  Where  they  have  to  quit  their 
acquired  luxuries,  or  pay  ten  times  their  accustomed  prices  for  them — and  to 
scuffle  for  a  few  years  upon  the  plains,  with  the  wild  tribes,  and  with  white 
men  also,  for  the  flesh  and  the  skins  of  the  last  of  the  buffaloes  ;  where  their 
carnage,  but  not  their  appetites,  must  stop  in  a  few  years,  and  with  the 
ghastliness  of  hunger  and  despair,  they  will  find  themselves  gazing  at  each 
other  upon  the  vacant  waste,  which  will  afford  them  nothing  but  the  empty  air, 
and  the  desperate  resolve  to  flee  to  the  woods  and  fastnesses  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains;  whilst  more  lucky  white  man  will  return  to  his  comfortable  home, 
with  no  misfortune,  save  that  of  deep  remorse  and  a  guilty  conscience. 
Such  a  reader  will  find  enough  to  claim  his  pity  and  engage  his  whole  soul's 
indignation,  at  the  wholesale  and  retail  system  of  injustice,  which  has  been, 
from  the  very  first  landing  of  our  forefathers,  (and  is  equally  at  the  present 
day,  being)  visited  upon  these  poor,  and  naturally  unoffending,  untres- 
passing  people. 

In  alluding  to  the  cruel  policy  of  removing  the  different  tribes  to  their  new 
country,  West  of  the  Mississippi,  I  would  not  do  it  without  the  highest  re 
spect  to  the  motives  of  the  Government — and  to  the  feelings  and  opinions  of 
those  worthy  Divines,  whose  advice  and  whose  services  were  instrumental  in 
bringing  it  about ;  and  who,  no  doubt  were  of  opinion  that  they  were  effect 
ing  a  plan  that  would  redound  to  the  Indian's  benefit.  Such  was  once  my  own 
opinion — but  when  I  go,  as  I  have  done,  through  every  one  of  those  tribes 
removed,  who  had  learned  at  home  to  use  the  ploughshare,  and  also  contrac 
ted  a  passion,  and  a  taste  for  civilized  manufactures ;  and  after  that,  removed 
twelve  and  fourteen  hundred  miles  West,  to  a  wild  and  lawless  region,  where 

VOL.    II.  K   K 


250 

their  wants  are  to  be  supplied  by  the  traders,  at  eight  or  ten  times  the  prices 
they  have  been  in  the  habit  of  paying  ;  where  whiskey  can  easily  be  sold  to 
them  in  a  boundless  and  lawless  forest,  without  the  restraints  that  can  be  suc 
cessfully  put  upon  the  sellers  of  it  in  their  civilized  neighbourhoods;  and  where 
also  they  are  allured  from  the  use  of  their  ploughs,  by  the  herds  of  buffaloes 
and  other  wild  animals  on  the  plains ;  I  am  compelled  to  state,  as  my  irre 
sistible  conviction,  that  I  believe  the  system  one  well  calculated  to  benefit 
the  interests  of  the  voracious  land-speculators  and  Indian  Traders  ;  the  first 
of  whom  are  ready  to  grasp  at  their  lands,  as  soon  as  they  are  vacated — 
and  the  others,  at  the  annuities  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  ex 
travagant  customers.  I  believe  the  system  is  calculated  to  aid  these,  and 
perhaps  to  facilitate  the  growth  and  the  wealth  of  the  civilized  border; 
but  I  believe,  like  everything  else  that  tends  to  white  man's  aggrandizement, 
and  the  increase  of  his  wealth,  it  will  have  as  rapid  a  tendency  to  the 
poverty  and  destruction  of  the  poor  red  men  ;  who,  unfortunately,  almost 
seem  doomed,  never  in  any  way  to  be  associated  in  interest  with  their  pale- 
faced  neighbours. 

The  system  of  trade,  and  the  small-pox,  have  been  the  great  and  whole 
sale  destroyers  of  these  poor  people,  from  the  Atlantic  Coast  to  where  they 
are  now  found.  And  no  one  but  God,  knows  where  the  voracity  of  the  one 
is  to  stop,  short  of  the  acquisition  of  everything  that  is  desirable  to  money- 
making  man  in  the  Indian's  country ;  or  when  the  mortal  destruction  of  the 
other  is  to  be  arrested,  whilst  there  is  untried  flesh  for  it  to  act  upon,  either 
within  or  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

From  the  first  settlements  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  to  where  it  is  now  carried 
on  at  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  there  has  been  but  one  system  of 
trade  and  money-making,  by  hundreds  and  thousands  of  white  men,  who  are 
desperately  bent  upon  making  their  fortunes  in  this  trade,  with  the  unsophis 
ticated  children  of  the  forest ;  and  generally  they  have  succeeded  in  the 
achievement  of  their  object. 

The  Governments  of  the  United  States,  and  Great  Britain,  have  always 
held  out  every  encouragement  to  the  Fur  Traders,  whose  traffic  has  uniformly 
been  looked  upon  as  beneficial,  and  a  source  of  wealth  to  nations  ;  though 
surely,  they  never  could  have  considered  such  intercourse  as  advantageous 
to  the  savage. 

Besides  the  many  thousands  who  are  daily  and  hourly  selling  whiskey  and 
rum,  and  useless  gewgaws,  to  the  Indians  on  the  United  States,  the  Canada, 
the  Texian  and  Mexican  borders,  there  are,  of  hardy  adventurers,  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  beyond,  or  near  them,  and  out  of  all  limits  of  laws, 
one  thousand  armed  men  in  the  annual  employ  of  the  United  States'  Fur 
Companies — an  equal  number  in  the  employment  of  the  British  Factories, 
and  twice  that  number  in  the  Russian  and  Mexican  possessions ;  all  of  whom 
pervade  the  countries  of  the  wildest  tribes  they  can  reach,  with  guns  and 
gunpowder  in  their  hands,  and  other  instruments  of  death,  unthought  of 


251 

by  the  simple  savage,  calculated  to  terrify  and  coerce  him  to  favourable 
terms  in  his  trade :  and  in  all  instances  they  assume  the  right,  (and  prove  it, 
if  necessary,  by  the  superiority  of  their  weapons,)  of  hunting  and  trapping 
the  streams  and  lakes  of  their  countries. 

These  traders,  in  addition  to  the  terror,  and  sometimes  death,  that  they 
carry  into  these  remote  realms,  at  the  muzzles  of  their  guns,  as  well  as  by 
whiskey  and  the  small-pox,  are  continually  arming  tribe  after  tribe  with  fire 
arms  ;  who  are  able  thereby,  to  bring  their  unsuspecting  enemies  into  un 
equal  combats,  where  they  are  slain  by  thousands,  and  who  have  no  way  to 
heal  the  awful  wound  but  by  arming  themselves  in  turn  ;  and  in  a  similar 
manner  reeking  their  vengeance  upon  their  defenceless  enemies  on  the  West. 
In  this  wholesale  way,  and  by  whiskey  and  disease,  tribe  after  tribe  sink  their 
heads  and  lose  their  better,  proudest  half,  before  the  next  and  succeeding 
waves  of  civilization  flow  on,  to  see  or  learn  anything  definite  of  them. 

Without  entering  at  this  time,  into  any  detailed  history  of  this  immense 
system,  or  denunciation  of  any  of  the  men  or  their  motives,  who  are  en 
gaged  in  it,  I  would  barely  observe,  that,  from  the  very  nature  of  their 
traffic,  where  their  goods  are  to  be  carried  several  thousands  of  miles,  on 
the  most  rapid  and  dangerous  streams,  over  mountains  and  other  almost 
discouraging  obstacles ;  and  that  at  the  continual  hazard  to  their  lives,  from 
accidents  and  diseases  of  the  countries,  the  poor  Indians  are  obliged  to  pay 
such  enormous  prices  for  their  goods,  that  the  balance  of  trade  is  so  de 
cidedly  against  them,  as  soon  to  lead  them  to  poverty  ;  and,  unfortunately 
for  them,  they  mostly  contract  a  taste  for  whiskey  and  rum,  which  are  not 
only  ruinous  in  their  prices,  but  in  their  effects  destructive  to  life — destroy 
ing  the  Indians,  much  more  rapidly  than  an  equal  indulgence  will  destroy 
the  civilized  constitution. 

In  the  Indian  communities,  where  there  is  no  law  of  the  land  or  custom 
denominating  it  a  vice  to  drink  whiskey,  and  to  get  drunk;  and  where  the 
poor  Indian  meets  whiskey  tendered  to  him  by  white  men,  whom  he  con 
siders  wiser  than  himself,  and  to  whom  he  naturally  looks  for  example  ;  he 
thinks  it  no  harm  to  drink  to  excess,  and  will  lie  drunk  as  long  as  he  can 
raise  the  means  to  pay  for  it.  And  after  his  first  means,  in  his  wild  state,  are 
exhausted,  he  becomes  a  beggar  for  whiskey,  and  begs  until  he  disgusts, 
when  the  honest  pioneer  becomes  his  neighbour  ;  and  then,  and  not  before, 
gets  the  name  of  the  "  poor,  degraded,  naked,  and  drunken  Indian,"  to 
whom  the  epithets  are  well  and  truly  applied. 

On  this  great  system  of  carrying  the  Fur  Trade  into  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  other  parts  of  the  wilderness  country,  where  whiskey  is  sold  at  the  rate  of 
twenty  and  thirty  dollars  per  gallon,  and  most  other  articles  of  trade  at  a 
similar  rate  ;  I  know  of  no  better  comment,  nor  any  more  excusable,  than 
the  quotation  of  a  few  passages  from  a  very  popular  work,  which  is  being 
read  with  great  avidity,  from  the  pen  of  a  gentleman  whose  name  gives  cur 
rency  to  any  book,  and  whose  fine  taste,  pleasure  to  all  who  read.  The 

K  K   2 


252 

work  I  refer  to  "  The  Rocky  Mountains,  or  Adventures  in  the  Far  West ; 
by  W.  Irving,"  is  a  very  interesting  one ;  and  its  incidents,  no  doubt,  are 
given  with  great  candour,  by  the  excellent  officer,  Captain  Bonneville,  who 
spent  five  years  in  the  region  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  a  furlough  ; 
endeavouring,  in  competition  with  others,  to  add  to  his  fortune,  by  pushing 
the  Fur  Trade  to  some  of  the  wildest  tribes  in  those  remote  regions. 

"  The  worthy  Captain  (says  the  Author)  started  into  the  country  with 
"  110  men  ;  whose  very  appearance  and  equipment  exhibited  a  piebald  mix- 
«  ture — half-civilized  and  half-savage,  &c."  And  he  also  preludes  his  work 
by  saying,  that  it  was  revised  by  himself  from  Captain  Bonneville's  own 
notes,  which  can,  no  doubt,  be  relied  on. 

This  medley  group,  it  seems,  traversed  the  country  to  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains,  where,  amongst  the  Nez  Perces  and  Flatheads,  he  says,  "  They  were 
"  friendly  in  their  dispositions,  and  honest  to  the  most  scrupulous  degree 
"  in  their  intercourse  with  the  white  men.  And  of  the  same  people,  the  Captain 
"  continues — Simply  to  call  these  people  religious,  would  convey  but  a  faint 
"  idea  of  the  deep  hue  of  piety  and  devotion  which  pervades  the  whole  of 
"  their  conduct.  Their  honesty  is  immaculate  ;  and  their  purity  of  purpose, 
"  and  their  observance  of  the  rites  ]of  their  religion,  are  most  uniform  and  re- 
"  markable.  They  are,  certainly,  more  like  a  nation  of  saints  than  a  horde 
0  of  savages." 

Afterwards,  of  the  "Root-Diggers"  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Great  Salt 
Lake,  who  are  a  band  of  the  Snake  tribe,  (and  of  whom  he  speaks  thus  : — 
"  In  fact,  they  are  a  simple,  timid,  inoffensive  race,  and  scarce  provided 
"  with  any  weapons,  except  for  the  chase")  ;  he  says  that,  "  one  morning, 
"  one  of  his  trappers,  of  a  violent  and  savage  character,  discovering  that  his 
"  traps  had  been  carried  off  in  the  night,  took  a  horrid  oath  that  he  would 
"  kill  the  first  Indian  he  should  meet,  innocent  or  guilty.  As  he  was  returning 
"  with  his  comrades  to  camp,  he  beheld  two  unfortunate  Root-Diggers  seated 
"  on  the  river  bank  fishing — advancing  upon  them,  he  levelled  his  rifle,  shot 
"  one  upon  the  spot,  and  flung  his  bleeding  body  into  the  stream." 

A  short  time  afterwards,  when  his  party  of  trappers  "  were  about  to  cross 
"  Ogden's  river,  a  great  number  of  Shoshokies  or  Root-Diggers  were  posted 
"  on  the  opposite  bank,  when  they  imagined  they  were  there  with  hostile  in- 
"  tent ;  they  advanced  upon  them,  levelled  their  rifles,  and  killed  twenty- 
"  five  of  them  on  the  spot.  The  rest  fled  to  a  short  distance,  then  halted 
"  and  turned  about,  howling  and  whining  like  wolves,  and  uttering  most 
"  piteous  waitings.  The  trappers  chased  them  in  every  direction  ;  the  poor 
"  wretches  made  no  defence,  but  fled  with  terror ;  neither  does  it  appear  from 
"  the  accounts  of  the  boasted  victors,  that  a  weapon  had  been  wielded,  or 
''  a  weapon  launched  by  the  Indians  throughout  the  affair." 

After  this  affair,  this  "  piebald"  band  of  trappers  wandered  off  to  Mon 
terey,  on  the  coast  of  California,  and  on  their  return  on  horseback  through 
an  immense  tract  of  the  Root-Diggers'  country,  he  gives  the  further  fol 
lowing  accounts  of  their  transactions  : — 


253 

"  In  the  course  of  their  journey  through  the  country  of  the  poor  Root- 
"  Diggers,  there  seems  to  have  been  an  emulation  between  them,  which  could 
"  inflict  the  greatest  outrages  upon  the  natives.  The  trappers  still  considered 
"  them  in  the  light  of  dangerous  foes ;  and  the  Mexicans,  very  probably, 
"  charged  them  with  the  sin  of  horse-stealing ;  we  have  no  other  mode  of 
"  accounting  for  the  infamous  barbarities,  of  which,  according  to  their  own 
"  story,  they  were  guilty — hunting  the  poor  Indians  like  wild  beasts,  and 
"  killing  them  without  mercy — chasing  their  unfortunate  victims  at  full 
"speed;  noosing  them  around  the  neck  with  their  lasos,  and  then  dragging 
"  them  to  death." 

It  is  due  to  Captain  Bonneville,  that  the  world  should  know  that  these 
cruel  (not  "  savage")  atrocities  were  committed  by  his  men,  when  they  were 
on  a  Tour  to  explore  the  shores  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  many  hundreds 
of  miles  from  him,  and  beyond  his  controul ;  and  that  in  his  work,  both  the 
Captain  and  the  writer  of  the  book  have  expressed  in  a  proper  way,  their 
abhorrence  of  such  fiendish  transactions. 

A  part  of  the  same  "  piebald  mixture"  of  trappers,  who  were  encamped 
in  the  Riccaree  country,  and  trapping  the  beavers  out  of  their  streams, 
when,  finding  that  the  Riccarees  had  stolen  a  number  of  their  horses  one 
night,  in  the  morning  made  prisoners  of  two  of  the  Riccarees,  who  loitered 
into  their  camp,  and  probably  without  knowledge  of  the  offence  committed, 
when  they  were  bound  hand  and  foot  as  hostages,  until  every  one  of  the 
horses  should  be  returned. 

"  The  mountaineers  declared,  that  unless  the  horses  were  relinquished,  the 
"  prisoners  should  be  burned  to  death.  To  give  force  to  their  threat,  a  pyre 
"  of  logs  and  faggots  was  heaped  up  and  kindled  into  a  blaze.  The  Riccarees 
"  released  one  horse,  and  then  another ;  but  finding  that  nothing  but  the 
"  relinquishment  of  all  their  spoils  would  purchase  the  lives  of  their  cap- 
"  tives,  they  abandoned  them  to  their  fate,  moving  off  with  many  parting 
"  words  and  howlings,  when  the  prisoners  were  dragged  to  the  blazing-  pyre, 
"  and  burnt  to  death  in  sight  of  their  retreating  comrades. 

"  Such  are  the  savage  cruelties  that  white  men  learn  to  practice,  who 
"  mingle  in  savage  life  ;  and  such  are  the  acts  that  lead  to  terrible  recrimi- 
"  nation  on  the  part  of  the  Indians.  Should  we  hear  of  any  atrocities  com- 
"  mitted  by  the  Riccarees  upon  captive  white  men  ;  let  this  signal  and  recent 
"  provocation  be  born  in  mind.  Individual  cases  of  the  kind  dwell  in  the 
"  recollections  of  whole  tribes — and  it  is  a  point  of  honour  and  conscience 
"  to  revenge  them."* 

*  During  the  summer  of  this  transaction  I  was  on  the  Upper  Missouri  river,  and  had 
to  pass  the  Riccaree  village  in  my  bark  canoe,  with  only  two  men,  which  the  reader  will 
say  justly  accounts  for  the  advice  of  Mr.  M'Kenzie,  to  pass  the  Riccaree  village  in  the 
night,  which  I  did,  as  I  have  before  described,  by  which  means  it  is  possible  I  preserved 
my  life,  as  they  had  just  killed  the  last  Fur  Trader  in  their  village,  and  as  I  have  learned 
since,  were  "  dancing  his  scalp"  when  I  came  by  them. 


264 

To  quote  the  author  further "  The  facts  disclosed  in  the  present 

"  work,  clearly  manifest  the  policy  of  establishing  military  posts,  and  a 
"  mounted  force  to  protect  our  Traders  in  their  journeys  across  the  great 
"  Western  wilds  ;  and  of  pushing  the  outposts  into  the  heart  of  the  singular 
"  wilderness  we  have  laid  open,  so  as  to  maintain  some  degree  of  sway  over 
"  the  country,  and  to  put  an  end  to  the  kind  of  '  black  mail,'  levied  on  all 
"  occasions,  by  the  savage  '  chivalry  of  the  mountains  '  "! 

The  appalling  cruelties  in  the  above  quotations  require  no  comment; 
and  I  hope  the  author,  as  well  as  the  Captain,  who  have  my  warmest  appro 
bation  for  having  so  frankly  revealed  them,  will  pardon  me  for  having 
quoted  them  in  this  place,  as  one  striking  proof  of  the  justice  that  may  be 
reasonably  expected,  in  prospect ;  and  that  may  fairly  be  laid  to  the  past 
proceedings  of  these  great  systems  of  trading  with,  and  civilizing  the  savages  ; 
which  have  been  carried  on  from  the  beginning  of  our  settlements  on  the 
Atlantic  Coast,  to  the  present  day — making  first  acquaintance  with  them, 
and  first  impressions  of  the  glorious  effects  of  civilization — and  of  the 
sum  total  of  which,  this  instance  is  but  a  mere  point ;  but  with  the  sin 
gular  merit  which  redounds  to  the  honour  of  Captain  Bonneville,  that  he 
has  frankly  told  the  whole  truth  ;  which,  if  as  fully  revealed  of  all  other 
transactions  in  these  regions,  I  am  enabled  to  say,  would  shake  every  breast 
with  ague-chills  of  abhorrence  of  civilized  barbarities.  From  the  above 
facts,  as  well  as  from  others  enumerated  in  the  foregoing  epistles,  the  dis 
cerning  reader  will  easily  see  how  prejudices  are  raised  in  the  minds  of  the 
savage,  and  why  so  many  murders  of  white  people  are  heard  of  on  the  Fron 
tier,  which  are  uniformly  attributed  to  the  wanton  cruelty  and  rapacity  of  the 
savage — which  we  denominate  "  Indian  murders,"  and  "  ruthless  barbarities," 
before  we  can  condescend  to  go  to  the  poor  savage,  and  ask  him  for  a 
reason,  which  there  is  no  doubt  he  could  generally  furnish  us. 

From  these,  and  hundreds  of  others  that  might  be  named,  and  equally 
barbarous,  it  can  easily  be  seen,  that  white  men  may  well  feel  a  dread  at 
every  step  they  take  in  Indian  realms,  after  atrocities  like  these,  that  call  so 
loudly  and  so  justly  for  revenge,  in  a  country  where  there  are  no  laws  to 
punish ;  but  where  the  cruel  savage  takes  vengeance  in  his  own  way — and 
white  men  fall,  in  the  Indian's  estimation,  not  as  murdered,  but  executed, 
under  the  common  law  of  their  land. 

Of  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of  such  murders,  as  they  are  denominated 
by  white  men,  who  are  the  only  ones  to  tell  of  them  in  the  civilized  world  ; 
it  should  also  be  kept  in  mind  by  the  reader,  who  passes  his  sentence  on 
them,  that  they  are  all  committed  on  Indian  ground — that  the  Indian  hunts 
not,  nor  traps  anywhere  on  white  man's  soil,  nor  asks  him  for  his  lands — or 
molests  the  sacred  graves  where  they  have  deposited  the  bones  of  their 
fathers,  their  wives  and  their  little  children. 

I  have  said  that  the  principal  means  of  the  destruction  of  these  people, 
were  the  system  of  trade,  and  the  introduction  of  small-pox,  the  in- 


256 

fallible  plague  that  is  consequent,  sooner  or  later,  upon  the  introduction 
of  trade  and  whiskey-selling  to  every  tribe.  I  would  venture  the  asser 
tion,  from  books  that  I  have  searched,  and  from  other  evidence,  that  of 
the  numerous  tribes  which  have  already  disappeared,  and  of  those  that 
have  been  traded  with,  quite  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  each  one  has  had 
this  exotic  disease  in  their  turn — and  in  a  few  months  have  lost  one  half 
or  more  of  their  numbers  ;  and  that  from  living  evidences,  and  distinct 
traditions,  this  appalling  disease  has  several  times,  before  our  days,  run 
like  a  wave  through  the  Western  tribes,  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean — thinning  the  ranks  of  the  poor  Indians  to  an  extent 
which  no  knowledge,  save  that  of  the  overlooking  eye  of  the  Almighty,  can 
justly  comprehend.* 

I  have  travelled  faithfully  and  far,  and  have  closely  scanned,  with  a  hope 
of  fairly  pourtraying  the  condition  and  customs  of  these  unfortunate  people  ; 
and  if  in  taking  leave  of  my  readers,  which  I  must  soon  do,  they  should 
censure  me  for  any  oversight,  or  any  indiscretion  or  error,  I  will  take  to 
myself  these  consoling  reflections,  that  they  will  acquit  me  of  intention  to 
render  more  or  less  than  justice  to  any  one  ;  and  also,  that  if  in  my  zeal 
to  render  a  service  and  benefit  to  the  Indian,  I  should  have  fallen  short  of 
it,  I  will,  at  least,  be  acquitted  of  having  done  him  an  injury.  And  in 
endeavouring  to  render  them  that  justice,  it  belongs  to  me  yet  to  say  that 
the  introduction  of  the  fatal  causes  of  their  destruction  above-named,  has 
been  a  subject  of  close  investigation  with  me  during  my  travels  ;  and  I  have 
watched  on  every  part  of  the  Frontier  their  destructive  influences,  which 
result  in  the  overthrow  of  the  savage  tribes,  which,  one  succeeding  another, 
are  continually  becoming  extinct  under  their  baneful  influences.  And  before 
I  would  expatiate  upon  any  system  for  their  successful  improvement  and  pre 
servation,  I  would  protrude  my  opinion  to  the  world,  which  I  regret  to  do, 
that  so  long  as  the  past  and  present  system  of  trade  and  whiskey-selling  is  tole 
rated  amongst  them,  there  is  little  hope  for  their  improvement,  nor  any  chance 
for  more  than  a  temporary  existence.  I  have  closely  studied  the  Indian 
character  in  its  native  state,  and  also  in  its  secondary  form  along  our  Fron 
tiers;  civilized,  as  it  is  often  (but  incorrectly)  called.  I  have  seen  it  in 
every  phase,  and  although  there  are  many  noble  instances  to  the  contrary, 
and  with  many  of  whom  I  am  personally  acquainted  ;  yet  the  greater  part 

*  The  Reverend  Mr.  Parker  in  his  Tour  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  says,  that 
amongst  the  Indians  below  the  Falls  of  the  Columbia  at  least  seven-eighths,  if  not  nine- 
tenths,  as  Dr.  M'Laughlin  believes,  have  been  swept  away  by  disease  between  the  years 
1829,  and  the  time  that  he  visited  that  place  in  1836.  •'  So  many  and  so  sudden  were  the 
deaths  which  occurred,  that  the  shores  were  strewed  with  the  unbuiied  dead,  whole  and 
large  villages  were  depopulated,  and  some  entire  tribes  have  disappeared."  This  mortality 
he  says  "extended  not  only  from  the  Cascades  to  the  Pacific,  but  from  very  far  North  to  the 
coast  of  California."  These  facts,  with  hundreds  of  others,  shew  how  rapidly  the  Indian 
population  is  destroyed,  long  before  we  become  acquainted  with  them. 


256 

of  those  who  have  lingered  along  the  Frontiers,  and  been  kicked  about 
like  dogs,  by  white  men,  and  beaten  into  a  sort  of  a  civilization,  are  very 
far  from  being  what  I  would  be  glad  to  see  them,  and  proud  to  call  them, 
civilized  by  the  aids  and  examples  of  good  and  moral  people.  Of  the 
Indians  in  their  general  capacity  of  civilized,  along  our  extensive  Frontier, 
and  those  tribes  that  I  found  in  their  primitive  and  disabused  state,  I  have 
drawn  a  Table,  which  I  offer  as  an  estimate  of  their  comparative  character, 
which  I  trust  will  be  found  to  be  near  the  truth,  generally,  though  like  all 
general  rules  or  estimates,  with  its  exceptions.  (Vide  Appendix  C.) 

Such  are  the  results  to  which  the  present  system  of  civilization  brings 
that  small  part  of  these  poor  unfortunate  people,  who  outlive  the  first 
calamities  of  their  country ;  and  in  this  degraded  and  pitiable  condition, 
the  most  of  them  end  their  days  in  poverty  and  wretchedness,  without 
the  power  of  rising  above  it.  Standing  on  the  soil  which  they  have  occu 
pied  from  their  childhood,  and  inherited  from  their  fathers ;  with  the 
dread  of  "  pale  faces,"  and  the  deadly  prejudices  that  have  been  reared  in 
their  breasts  against  them,  for  the  destructive  influences  which  they  have  in 
troduced  into  their  country,  which  have  thrown  the  greater  part  of  their 
friends  and  connexions  into  the  grave,  and  are  now  promising  the  remainder 
of  them  no  better  prospect  than  the  dreary  one  of  living  a  few  years  longer, 
and  then  to  sink  into  the  ground  themselves  ;  surrendering  their  lands  and 
their  fair  hunting  grounds  to  the  enjoyment  of  their  enemies,  and  their  bones 
to  be  dug  up  and  strewed  about  the  fields,  or  to  be  labelled  in  our  Museums. 

For  the  Christian  and  philanthropist,  in  any  part  of  the  world,  there  is 
enough,  I  am  sure,  in  the  character,  condition,  and  history  of  these  unfor 
tunate  people,  to  engage  his  sympathies — for  the  Nation,  there  is  an  unre 
quited  account  of  sin  and  injustice  that  sooner  or  later  will  call  for  national 
retribution — and  for  the  American  citizens,  who  live,  every  where  proud  of 
their  growing  wealth  and  their  luxuries,  over  the  bones  of  these  poor  fel 
lows,  who  have  surrendered  their  hunting-grounds  and  their  lives,  to  the 
enjoyment  of  their  cruel  dispossessors,  there  is  a  lingering  terror  yet,  I  fear, 
for  the  reflecting  minds,  whose  mortal  bodies  must  soon  take  their  humble 
places  with  their  red,  but  injured  brethren,  under  the  same  glebe ;  to  ap 
pear  and  stand,  at  last,  with  guilt's  shivering  conviction,  amidst  the  myriad 
ranks  of  accusing  spirits,  that  are  to  rise  in  their  own  fields,  at  the  final 
day  of  resurrection  ! 


257 


APPENDIX-A. 


EXTINCTION  OF  THE  MANDANS. 

FROM  the  accounts  brought  to  New  York  in  the  fall  of  1838,  hy  Messrs.  M'Kenzie, 
Mitchell,  and  others,  from  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  with  whom  I  conversed  on  the  subject, 
it  seems  that  in  the  summer  of  that  year  the  small-pox  was  accidentally  introduced 
amongst  the  Mandans,  by  the  Fur  Traders  ;  and  that  in  the  course  of  two  months  they  all 
perished,  except  some  thirty  or  forty,  who  were  taken  as  slaves  by  the  Riccarees  ;  an 
enemy  living  two  hundred  miles  below  them,  and  who  moved  up  and  took  possession  of 
their  village  soon  after  their  calamity,  taking  up  their  residence  in  it,  it  being  a  better 
built  village  than  their  own ;  and  from  the  lips  of  one  of  the  Traders  who  had  more 
recently  arrived  from  there,  I  had  the  following  account  of  the  remaining  few,  in  whose 
destruction  was  the  final  termination  of  this  interesting  and  once  numerous  tribe. 

The  Riccarees,  he  said,  had  taken  possession  of  the  village  after  the  disease  had  sub 
sided,  and  after  living  some  months  in  it,  were  attacked  by  a  large  party  of  their  enemies, 
the  Sioux,  and  whilst  fighting  desperately  in  resistance,  in  which  the  Mandan  prisoners  had 
taken  an  active  part,  the  latter  had  concerted  a  plan  for  their  own  destruction,  which  was 
effected  by  their  simultaneously  running  through  the  piquets  on  to  the  prairie,  calling  out 
to  the  Sioux  (both  men  and  women)  to  kill  them,  "  that  they  were  Riccaree  dogs,  that 
their  friends  were  all  dead,  and  they  did  not  wish  to  live," — that  they  here  wielded  their 
weapons  as  desperately  as  they  could,  to  excite  the  fury  of  their  enemy,  and  that  they 
were  thus  cut  to  pieces  and  destroyed. 

The  accounts  given  by  two  or  three  white  men,  who  were  amongst  the  Mandans  during 
the  ravages  of  this  frightful  disease,  are  most  appalling  and  actually  too  heart-rending  and 
disgusting  to  be  recorded.  The  disease  was  introduced  into  the  country  by  the  Fur 
Company's  steamer  from  St.  Louis ;  which  had  two  of  their  crew  sick  with  the  disease 
when  it  approached  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  imprudently  stopped  to  trade  at  the  Mandan 
village,  which  was  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  where  the  chiefs  and  others  were  allowed  to 
come  on  board,  by  which  means  the  disease  got  ashore. 

I  am  constrained  to  believe,  that  the  gentlemen  in  charge  of  the  steamer  did  not  believe 
it  to  be  the  small-pox  ;  for  if  they  had  known  it  to  be  such,  I  cannot  conceive  of  such 
imprudence,  as  regarded  their  own  interests  in  the  country,  as  well  as  the  fate  of  these 
poor  people,  by  allowing  their  boat  to  advance  into  the  country  under  such  circumstances. 
It  seems  that  the  Mandans  were  surrounded  by  several  war-parties  of  their  more 
powerful  enemies  the  Sioux,  at  that  unlucky  time,  and  they  could  not  therefore  disperse 
upon  the  plains,  by  which  many  of  them  could  have  been  saved  ;  and  they  were  necessarily 
inclosed  within  the  piquets  of  their  village,  where  the  disease  in  a  few  days  became  so 
very  malignant  that  death  ensued  in  a  few  hours  after  its  attacks  ;  and  so  slight  were  their 
hopes  when  they  were  attacked,  that  nearly  half  of  them  destroyed  themselves  with  their 
knives,  with  their  guns,  and  by  dashing  their  brains  out  by  leaping  head-foremost  from  a 
thirty  foot  ledge  of  rocks  in  fiont  of  their  village.  The  first  symptom  of  the  disease 
was  a  rapid  swelling  of  the  body,  and  so  very  virulent  had  it  become,  that  very  many 
died  in  two  or  three  hours  after  their  attack,  and  that  in  many  cases  without  the  appear 
ance  of  the  disease  upon  the  skin.  Utter  dismay  seemed  to  possess  all  classes  and  all  ages, 
and  they  gave  themselves  up  in  despair,  as  entirely  lost.  There  was  but  one  continual 
crying  and  howling  and  praying  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  his  protection  during  the  nights 
and  days  ;  and  there  being  but  few  living,  and  those  in  too  appalling  despair,  nobodv 
thought  of  burying  the  dead,  whose  bodies,  whole  families  together,  were  left  in  horrid 
and  loathsome  piles  in  their  own  wigwams,  with  a  few  buffalo  robes,  &c.  thrown  over 
them,  there  to  decay,  and  be  devoured  by  their  own  dogs.  That  such  a  proportion  of  their 
community  as  that  above-mentioned,  should  have  perished  in  so  short  a  time,  seems  yet 
to  the  reader,  an  unaccountable  thing  ;  but  in  addition  to  the  causes  just  mentioned,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  frightful  disease  is  everywhere  far  more  fatal  amongst  the 
native  than  in  civilized  population,  which  may  be  owing  to  some  extraordinary  constitu 
tional  susceptibility ;  or,  I  think,  more  probably,  to  the  exposed  lives  they  live,  leading 
more  directly  to  fatal  consequences.  In  this,  as  in  most  of  their  diseases,  they  ignorantly 
VOL.  II.  L  L 


258 

and  imprudently  plunge  into  the  coldest  water,  whilst  in  the  highest  state  of  fever,  and 
often  die  before  they  have  the  power  to  get  out. 

Some  have  attributed  the  unexampled  fatality  of  this  disease  amongst  the  Indians  to  the 
fact  of  their  living  entirely  on  animal  food  ;  but  so  important  a  subject  for  investigation  I 
must  leave  for  sounder  judgments  than  mine  to  decide.  They  are  a  people  whose  con 
stitutions  and  habits  of  life  enable  them  most  certainly  to  meet  most  of  its  ills  with  less 
dread,  and  with  decidedly  greater  success,  than  they  are  met  in  civilized  communities  ;  aud 
I  would  not  dare  to  decide  that  their  simple  meat  diet  was  the  cause  of  their  fatal  exposure 
to  one  frightful  disease,  when  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  it  has  been  the  cause  of  their 
exemption  and  protection  from  another,  almost  equally  destructive,  and,  like  the  former, 
of  civilized  introduction. 

During  the  season  of  the  ravages  of  the  Asiatic  cholera  which  swept  over  the  greater 
part  of  the  western  country,  and  the  Indian  frontier,  I  was  a  traveller  through  those 
regions,  and  was  able  to  witness  its  effects  ;  and  I  learned  from  what  I  saw,  as  well  as  from 
what  I  have  heard  in  other  parts  since  that  time,  that  it  travelled  to  and  over  the  frontiers, 
carrying  dismay  and  death  amongst  the  tribes  on  the  borders  in  many  cases,  so  far  as  they 
had  adopted  the  civilized  modes  of  life,  with  its  dissipations,  using  vegetable  food  and  salt ; 
but  wherever  it  came  to  the  tribes  living  exclusively  on  meat,  and  that  without  the  use  of 
salt,  its  progress  was  suddenly  stopped.  I  mention  this  as  a  subject  which  I  looked  upon 
as  important  to  science,  and  therefore  one  on  which  I  made  many  careful  enquiries  ;  and  so 
far  as  I  have  learned  along  that  part  of  the  frontier  over  which  I  have  since  passed,  I  have 
to  my  satisfaction  ascertained  that  such  became  the  utmost  limits  of  this  fatal  disease  in  its 
travel  to  the  West,  unless  where  it  might  have  followed  some  of  the  routes  of  the  Fur 
Traders,  who,  of  course,  have  introduced  the  modes  of  civilized  life. 

From  the  Trader  who  was  present  at  the  destruction  of  the  Mandans  I  had  many  most 
wonderful  incidents  of  this  dreadful  scene,  but  1  dread  to  recite  them.  Amongst  them, 
however,  there  is  one  that  I  must  briefly  describe,  relative  to  the  death  of  that  noble  gen 
tleman  of  whom  I  have  already  said  so  much,  and  to  whom  I  became  so  much  attached, 
Mah-to-toh-pa,  or  "  the  Four  Bears."  This  fine  fellow  sat  in  his  wigwam  and  watched 
every  one  of  his  family  die  about  him,  his  wives  and  his  little  children,  after  he  had 
recovered  from  the  disease  himself;  when  he  walked  out,  around  the  village,  and  wept 
over  the  final  destruction  of  his  tribe  ;  his  braves  and  warriors,  whose  sinewy  arms 
alone  he  could  depend  on  for  a  continuance  of  their  existence,  all  laid  low  ;  when  he 
came  back  to  his  lodge,  where  he  covered  his  whole  family  in  a  pile,  with  a  number 
of  robes,  and  wrapping  another  around  himself,  went  out  upon  a  hill  at  a  little  distance, 
where  he  laid  several  days,  despite  all  the  solicitations  of  the  Traders,  resolved  to  starve 
himself  to  death.  He  remained  there  till  the  sixth  day,  when  he  had  just  strength 
enough  to  creep  back  to  the  village,  when  he  entered  the  horrid  gloom  of  his  own  wig 
wam,  and  laying  his  body  along-side  of  the  group  of  his  family,  drew  his  robe  over  him 
and  died  on  the  ninth  day  of  his  fatal  abstinence. 

So  have  perished  the  friendly  aud  hospitable  Mandans,  from  the  best  accounts  I  could 
get ;  and  although  it  may  be  possible  that  some  few  individuals  may  yet  be  remaining,  I 
think  it  is  not  probable  ;  and  one  thing  is  certain,  even  if  such  be  the  case,  that,  as  a 
nation,  the  Mandans  are  extinct,  having  no  longer  an  existence. 

There  is  yet  a  melancholy  part  of  the  tale  to  be  told,  relating  to  the  ravages  of  this 
frightful  disease  in  that  country  on  the  same  occasion,  as  it  spread  to  other  contiguous 
tribes,  to  the  Minatarrees,  the  Kuisteneaux,  the  Blackfeet,  the  Chayennes  and  Crows ; 
amongst  whom  25,000  perished  in  the  course  of  four  or  five  months,  which  most  appalling 
facts  I  .got  from  Major  Pilcher,  now  Superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  at  St.  Louis,  from 
Mr.  M'Kenzie,  and  others. 

It  may  be  naturally  asked  here,  by  the  reader,  whether  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  have  taken  any  measures  to  prevent  the  ravages  of  this  fatal  disease  amongst 
these  exposed  tribes  ;  to  which  1  answer,  that  repeated  efforts  have  been  made,  and  so  far 
generally,  as  the  tribes  have  ever  had  the  disease,  (or,  at  all  events,  within  the  recollec 
tions  of  those  who  are  now  living  in  the  tribes,)  the  Government  agents  have  succeeded 
in  introducing  vaccination  as  a  protection  ;  but  amongst  those  tribes  in  their  wild  state, 
and  where  they  have  not  suffered  with  the  disease,  very  little  success  has  been  met  with 
in  the  attempt  to  protect  them,  on  account  of  their  superstitions,  which  have  generally 
resisted  all  attempts  to  introduce  vaccination.  Whilst  I  was  on  the  Upper  Missouri, 
several  surgeons  were  sent  into  the  country  with  the  Indian  agents,  where  I  several  times 
saw  the  attempts  made  without  success.  They  have  perfect  confidence  in  the  skill  of  their 
own  physicians,  until  the  disease  has  made  one  slaughter  in  their  tribe,  and  then,  having 
seen  white  men  amongst  them  protected  by  it,  they  are  disposed  to  receive  it,  before 


A  OIAHT  SHK\VIN(;    TIIK    S1OVKS    «K    Til  K   ilAXDAXS    \-    TH  K    1'I.AC  K    Oh'    TJ1F.IR    KXTI  N<  'Tl  i )  X 


259 

which  they  cannot  believe  that  so  minute  a  puncture  in  the  arm  is  going  to  protect  them 
from  so  fatal  a  disease  ;  and  as  they  see  white  men  so  earnestly  urging  it,  they  decide  that 
it  must  be  some  new  mode  or  trick  of  pale  faces,  by  which  they  are  to  gain  some  new 
advantage  over  them,  and  they  stubbornly  and  successfully  resist  it. 


THE  WELSH  COLONY, 

Which  I  barely  spoke  of  in  page  206,  of  Vol.  I.  which  sailed  under  the  direction  of 
Prince  Madoc,  or  Madawc,  from  North  Wales,  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century 
in  ten  ships,  according  to  numerous  and  accredited  authors,  and  never  returned  to  their 
own  country,  have  been  supposed  to  have  landed  somewhere  on  the  coast  of  North  or 
South  America  ;  and  from  the  best  authorities,  (which  I  will  suppose  everybody  has  read, 
rather  than  quote  them  at  this  time,)  I  believe  it  has  been  pretty  clearly  proved  that  they 
landed  either  on  the  coast  of  Florida  or  about  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  according 
to  the  history  and  poetry  of  their  country,  settled  somewhere  in  the  interior  of  North 
America,  where  they  are  yet  remaining,  intermixed  with  some  of  the  savage  tribes. 

In  my  Letter  just  referred  to,  I  barely  suggested,  that  the  Mandans,  whom  [found  with 
so  many  peculiarities  in  looks  and  customs,  which  I  have  already  described,  might  possibly 
be  the  remains  of  this  lost  colony,  amalgamated  with  a  tribe,  or  part  of  a  tribe,  of  the 
natives,  which  would  account  for  the  unusual  appearances  of  this  tribe  of  Indians,  and 
also  for  the  changed  character  and  customs  of  the  Welsh  Colonists,  provided  these  be  the 
remains  of  them. 

Since  those  notes  were  written,  as  will  have  been  seen  by  my  subsequent  Letters,  and 
particularly  in  page  9  of  this  Volume,  I  have  descended  the  Missouri  river  from  the 
Mandan  village  to  St.  Louis,  a  distance  of  1800  miles,  and  have  taken  pains  to  examine 
its  shores  ;  and  from  the  repeated  remains  of  the  ancient  locations  of  the  Mandans,  which 
I  met  with  on  the  banks  of  that  river,  I  am  fully  convinced  that  I  have  traced  them  down 
nearly  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  river ;  and  from  exactly  similar  appearances,  which  I 
recollect  to  have  seen  several  years  since  in  several  places  in  the  interior  of  the  state  of 
Ohio,  I  am  fully  convinced  that  they  have  formerly  occupied  that  part  of  the  country, 
and  have,  from  some  cause  or  other,  been  put  in  motion,  and  continued  to  make  their 
repeated  moves  until  they  arrived  at  the  place  of  their  residence  at  the  time  of  their 
extinction,  on  the  Upper  Missouri. 

In  the  annexed  chart  of  the  Missouri  and  Ohio  rivers,  will  be  seen  laid  down  the  different 
positions  of  the  ancient  marks  of  their  towns  which  I  have  examined  ;  and  also,  nearly, 
(though  not  exactly)  the  positions  of  the  very  numerous  civilized  fortifications  which  are 
now  remaining  on  the  Ohio  and  Muskingum  rivers,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  I  believe  the 
Mandans  once  lived. 

These  ancient  fortifications,  which  are  very  numerous  in  that  vicinity,  some  of  which 
enclose  a  great  many  acres,  and  being  built  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  with  walls  in  some 
places  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  height,  with  covered  ways  to  the  water,  evince  a  knowledge 
of  the  science  of  fortifications,  apparently  not  a  century  behind  that  of  the  present  day, 
were  evidently  never  built  by  any  nation  of  savages  in  America,  and  present  to  us 
incontestable  proof  of  the  former  existence  of  a  people  very  far  advanced  ia  the  arts  of 
civilization,  who  have,  from  some  cause  or  other,  disappeared,  and  left  these  imperishable 
proofs  of  their  former  existence. 

Now  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  ten  ships  of  Madoc,  or  a  part  of  them  at  least, 
entered  the  Mississippi  river  at  the  Balize,  and  made  their  way  up  the  Mississippi,  or  that 
they  landed  somewhere  on  the  Florida  coast,  and  that  their  brave  and  persevering  colonists 
made  their  way  through  the  interior,  to  a  position  on  the  Ohio  river,  where  they  culti 
vated  their  fields,  and  established  in  one  of  the  finest  countries  on  earth,  a  flourishing 
colony  ;  but  were  at  length  set  upon  by  the  savages,  whom,  perhaps,  they  provoked  to 
warfare,  being  trespassers  on  their  hunting-grounds,  and  by  whom,  in  overpowering  hordes, 
they  were  beseiged,  until  it  was  necessary  to  erect  these  fortifications  for  their  defence,  into 
which  they  were  at  last  driven  by  a  confederacy  of  tribes,  and  there  held  till  their  ammu 
nition  and  provisions  gave  out,  and  they  in  the  end  have  all  perished,  except,  perhaps, 
that  portion  of  them  who  might  have  formed  alliance  by  marriage  with  the  Indians,  and 
their  offspring,  who  would  have  been  half-breeds,  and  of  course  attached  to  the  Indians' 
side  ;  whose  lives  have  been  spared  in  the  general  massacre ;  and  at  length,  being  de- 
pised,  as  all  half-breeds  of  enemies  are,  have  gathered  themselves  into  a  band,  and  severing 
Irom  their  parent  tribe,  have  moved  off,  and  increased  in  numbers  and  strength,  as  they 
have  advanced  up  the  Missouri  river  to  the  place  where  they  have  been  known  for  many 

L  L  2 


260 

years  past  by  the  name   of  the    Mandans,   a   corruption   or    abbreviation,   perhaps,    of 
"  Madawgwys,"  the  name  applied  by  the  Welsh  to  the  followers  of  Madawc. 

If  this  be  a  startling  theory  for  the  world,  they  will  be  the  more  sure  to  read  the  follow 
ing  brief  reasons  which  I  bring  in  support  of  my  opinion  ;  and  if  they  do  not  support  me, 
they  will  at  least  be  worth  knowing,  and  may,  at  the  same  time,  be  the  means  of  eliciting 
further  and  more  successful  enquiry. 

As  I  have  said,  in  page  9  of  this  Volume,  and  in  other  places,  the  marks  of  the  Mandan 
villages  are  known  bv  the  excavations  of  two  feet  or  more  in  depth,  and  thirty  or  forty  feet 
in  diameter,  of  a  circular  form,  made  in  the  ground  for  the  foundations  of  their  wigwams, 
which  leave  a  decided  remain  for  centuries,  and  one  that  is  easily  detected  the  moment 
that  it  is  met  with.  After  leaving  the  Mandan  village,  I  found  the  marks  of  their  former 
residence  about  sixty  miles  below  where  they  were  then  living,  and  from  which  they 
removed  (from  their  own  account)  about  sixty  or  eighty  years  since  ;  and  from  the  appear 
ance  of  the  number  of  their  lodges,  I  should  think,  that  at  that  recent  date  there  must  have 
been  three  times  the  number  that  were  living  when  I  was  amongst  them.  Near  the  mouth 
of  the  big  Shienne  river,  200  miles  below  their  last  location,  1  found  still  more  ancient 
remains,  and  in  as  many  as  six  or  seven  other  places  between  that  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio,  as  I  have  designated  on  the  chart,  and  each  one,  as  I  visited  them,  appearing  more  and 
more  ancient,  convincing  me  that  these  people,  wherever  they  might  have  come  from,  have 
gradually  made  their  moves  up  thebanks  of  the  Missouri,  to  the  place  where  I  visited  them. 
For  the  most  part  of  this  distance  they  have  been  in  the  heart  of  the  great  Sioux  country, 
and  being  looked  upon  by  the  Sioux  as  trespassers,  have  been  continually  warred  upon  by 
this  numerous  tribe,  who  have  endeavoured  to  extinguish  them,  as  they  have  been  endea 
vouring  to  do  ever  since  our  first  acquaintance  with  them  ;  but  who,  being  always  fortified 
by  a  strong  piquet,  or  stockade,  have  successfully  withstood  the  assaults  of  their  enemies, 
and  preserved  the  remnant  of  their  tribe.  Through  this  sort  of  gauntlet  they  have  run,  in 
passing  through  the  countries  of  these  warlike  and  hostile  tribes. 

It  may  be  objected  to  this,  perhaps,  that  the  Riccarees  and  Minatarees  build  their  wig- 
warns  in  the  same  way  :  but  this  proves  nothing,  for  the  Minatarees  are  Crows,  from  the 
north-west ;  and  by  their  own  showing,  fled  to  the  Mandans  for  protection,  and  forming 
their  villages  by  the  side  of  them,  built  their  wigwams  in  the  same  manner. 

The  Riccarees  have  been  a  very  small  tribe,  far  inferior  to  the  Mandans  ;  and  by  the 
traditions  of  the  Mandans,  as  well  as  from  the  evidence  of  the  first  explorers,  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  and  others,  have  lived,  until  quite  lately,  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the  Mandans, 
whose  villages  they  have  successively  occupied  as  the  Mandans  have  moved  and  vacated 
them,  as  they  now  are  doing,  since  disease  has  swept  the  whole  of  the  Mandans  away. 

Whether  my  derivation  of  the  word  Mandan  from  Madawgwys  be  correct  or  not,  I 
will  pass  it  over  to  the  world  at  present  merely  as  presumptive  proof,  for  want  of  better, 
which,  perhaps,  this  enquiry  may  elicit;  and,  at  the  same  time,  I  offer  the  Welsh  word 
Mandmi,  (the  woodroof,  a  species  of  madder  used  as  a  red  dye,)  as  the  name  that  might 
possibly  have  been  applied  by  their  Welsh  neighbours  to  these  people,  on  account  of  their 
very  ingenious  mode  of  giving  the  beautiful  red  and  other  dyes  to  the  porcupine  quills 
with  which  they  garnish  their  dresses. 

In  their  own  language  they  called  themselves  See-pohs-ka^nu-mali-ka-kee,  (the  people 
of  the  pheasants,)  which  was  probably  the  name  of  the  primitive  stock,  before  they  were 
mixed  with  any  other  people  ;  and  to  have  got  such  a  name,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that 
they  must  have  come  from  a  country  where  pheasants  existed,  which  cannot  be  found  short 
of  reaching  the  timbered  country  at  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  some  six  or  eight 
hundred  miles  West  of  the  Mandans,  or  the  forests  of  Indiana  and  Ohio,  some  hundreds  of 
miles  to  the  South  and  East  of  where  they  last  lived. 

The  above  facts,  together  with  the  other  one  which  they  repeatedly  related  to  me,  and 
which  I  have  before  alluded  to,  that  they  had  often  been  to  the  hill  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone, 
and  that  they  once  lived  near  it,  carry  conclusive  evidence,  I  think,  that  they  have  formerly- 
occupied  a  country  much  farther  to  the  South  ;  and  that  they  have  repeatedly  changed  their 
locations,  until  they  reached  the  spot  of  their  last  residence,  where  they  have  met  with 
their  final  misfortune.  And  as  evidence  in  support  of  my  opinion  that  they  came  from 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  and  have  brought  with  them  some  of  the  customs  of  the  civilized 
people  who  erected  those  ancient  fortifications,  I  am  able  to  say,  that  the  numerous  speci 
mens  of  pottery  which  have  been  taken  from  the  graves  and  tumuli  about  those  ancient 
works,  (many  of  which  maybe  seen  now,  in  the  Cincinnati  Museum,  and  some  of  which, 
my  own  donations,  and  which  have  so  much  surprised  the  enquiring  world,)  were  to  be 
seen  in  great  numbers  in  the  use  of  the  Mandans  ;  and  scarcely  a  day  in  the  summer, 
when  the  visitor  to  their  village  would  not  see  the  wpmen  at  work  with  their  hands  and 


261 

fingers,  moulding  them  from  black  clay,  into  vases,  cups,  pitchers,  and  pots,  and  baking 
them  in  their  little  kilns  in  the  sides  of  the  hill,  or  under  the  bank  of  the  river. 

In  addition  to  this  art,  which  I  am  sure  belongs  to  no  other  tribe  on  the  Continent,  these 
people  have  also,  as  a  secret  with  themselves,  the  extraordinary  art  of  manufacturing  a 
very  beautiful  and  lasting  kind  of  blue  glass  beads,  which  they  wear  on  their  necks  in  great 
quantities,  and  decidedly  value  above  all  others  that  are  brought  amongst  them  by  the 
Fur  Traders. 

This  secret  is  not  only  one  that  the  Traders  did  not  introduce  amongst  them,  but  one 
that  they  cannot  learn  from  them  ;  and  at  the  same  time,  beyond  a  doubt,  an  art  that  has 
been  introduced  amongst  them  by  some  civilized  people,  as  it  is  as  yet  unknown  to  other 
Indian  tribes  in  that  vicinity,  or  elsewhere.  Of  this  interesting  fact,  Lewis  and  Clarke 
have  given  an  account  thirty-three  years  ago,  at  a  time  when  no  Traders,  or  other  white 
people,  had  been  amongst  the  Mandans,  to  have  taught  them  so  curious  an  art. 

The  Mandan  canoes  whicli  are  altogether  different  from  those  of  all  other  tribes,  are  ex 
actly  the  Welsh  coracle,  made  of  raw-hides,  the  skins  of  buffaloes,  stretched  underneath  a 
frame  made  of  willow  or  other  boughs,  and  shaped  nearly  round,  like  a  tub ;  which  the 
woman  carries  on  her  head  from  her  wigwam  to  the  water's  edge,  and  having  stepped  into 
it,  stands  in  front,  and  propels  it  by  dipping  her  paddle/oru;a»-d,  and  drawing  it  to  her,  in 
stead  of  paddling  by  the  side.  In  referring  to  PLATE  240,  letter  c,  page  1 38,  the  reader 
will  see  several  drawings  of  these  seemingly  awkward  crafts,  which,  nevertheless,  the 
Mandan  women  will  pull  through  the  water  at  a  rapid  rate. 

How  far  these  extraordinary  facts  may  go  in  the  estimation  of  the  reader,  with  numerous 
others  which  I  have  mentioned  in  Volume  I.,  whilst  speaking  of  the  Mandans,  of  their 
various  complexions,  colours  of  hair,  and  blue  and  grey  eyes,  towards  establishing  my 
opinion  as  a  sound  theory,  I  cannot  say  ;  but  this  much  I  can  safely  aver,  that  at  the  mo 
ment  that  I  first  saw  these  people,  I  was  so  struck  with  the  peculiarity  of  their  appearance, 
that  I  was  under  the  instant  conviction  that  they  were  an  amalgam  of  a  native,  with  some 
civilized  race ;  and  from  what  I  have  seen  of  them,  and  of  the  remains  on  the  Missouri 
and  Ohio  rivers,  I  feel  fully  convinced  that  these  people  have  emigrated  from  the  latter 
stream  ;  and  that  they  have,  in  the  manner  that  I  have  already  stated,  with  many  of  their 
customs,  been  preserved  from  the  almost  total  destruction  of  the  bold  colonists  of  Aladawc, 
who,  I  believe,  settled  upon  and  occupied  for  a  century  or  so,  the  rich  and  fertile  banks 
of  the  Ohio.  In  adducing  the  proof  for  the  support  of  this  theory,  if  I  have  failed  to 
complete  it,  I  have  the  satisfaction  that  I  have  not  taken  up  much  of  the  reader's  time,  and 
I  can  therefore  claim  his  attention  a  few  moments  longer,  whilst  I  refer  him  to  a  brief 
vocabulary  of  the  Mandan  language  in  the  following  pages,  where  he  may  compare  it  with 
that  of  the  Welsh  ;  and  better,  perhaps,  than  I  cau,  decide  whether  there  is  any  affinity 
existing  between  the  two ;  and  if  he  finds  it,  it  will  bring  me  a  friendly  aid  in  support  of 
the  position  I  have  taken. 

From  the  comparison,  that  I  have  been  able  to  make,  I  think  I  am  authorized  to  say,  that 
in  the  following  list  of  words,  which  form  a  part  of  that  vocabulary,  there  is  a  striking 
similarity,  and  quite  sufficient  to  excite  surprise  in  the  minds  of  the  attentive  reader,  if  it 
could  be  proved  that  those  resemblances  were  but  the  results  of  accident  between  two 
foreign  and  distinct  idioms. 

Engliih.  Mandan.  Welsh.  Pronounced. 

I Me    Mi    Me 

You Ne    Chwi    Chwe 

He    E A A 

She   Ea    E A 

It Ount     Hwynt      Hooynt 

We   Noo Ni     Ne 

~n  „       ,  Hwna  mas Hoona 

ney Eonah Hona/m Hona 

Those  ones Yrhai  Hyna 

No,  or,  there  is  not   Megosh    Nagoes Nagosh 

(  Nage 

No    <  Nag 

C.Na 

Head    Pan Pen Pan 

The  Great  Spirit . .   Maho  peneta  ......    Mawr  penaethir* ....    Maoor  panaether 

Ysprid  mawrf Uspryd  maoor 

*  To  act  as  a  great  chief — head  or  principal — sovereign  or  supreme, 
t  The  Great  Spirit. 


262 


-1l!i 

M  J3  ~*    xn  ® 


5  °  go  3 

'C  S  a  «  t>D 
P    p   es  -5  .S 


_, 

§•2   p   C  ** 


PQ 
XI 


H 
PM 


-1" 


c      S  B-S 


^ 


HhS 


*  J3  3  o  o  o  .*  • 
^  <  >>  >>  >  > 


3 


g  s 


e  2 


W  a;  o  a  B  « 


263 


•- 

.2  £  «  a  a 


1 


— 

O* 


U     tw 

1J 


K  C8    05 


«    ?. 


I     « 

w     rt  c3 

«S  s     -=> 


.5  —  J3®So®O) 

"    O  ^    P    o    S    « 


fe     •«  IE  «  fe  e  ^  a 

>        -   a>   <B  g  «s 


1 
1* 

si*  s  *,3 


s-jhm! 


3Maa>52o?S=300.«'~3SS*'o3*:    °  jd    2      .Oa>gJ4§(8"- >000'3c®--® 

WW^^^KHS^^^HSlafS^^O^S    r^^KOKWO^^^^^^O^ 


cs         o 

•*^     ^H    rt 


"o  «  j 
9  2 . 


264 


o-aoo3o---^3o^ar-aj 
0000<30«Ort>H<|^>H 


3  8  3  JS 


^    j<  a 

b^rs 

.*     3    O     fc 

1-Is.S 


-  a 


i 


.3  •*    0    H 

a-S  §  o 
p  8      o 

j-  -«  o   c 
o  o  o  a 


.2       ™  s 
-.2,5      -SJ= 


O  •<  O  •<  F? 


a,  4< 


.l|        i        ss  Ei. 

|Jl|ill5lJf|l| 


1?s,js^a|s^5|s^^  -5 
J^«ii1s,lle^§-sllfi«s«il 

•S-S  a  =  a  g  9  o^-g  g  d  c  S-^-^^^  s  h 
^^^^^Ss^^^SooSOcacsooS 
^i$Sw^H^;W^>WH(0-iW^WS«3S 


•"Sin 


«     ikl4 

iVil- 


S  .S  s 


ft         "^ 


-§  a-6 

^"^  S  e 

-5-  s.  -13    g 


o 


l'S-2 

^  CO  ^ 


265 


<c  a  J2  c  a 


.«     ®  43     «J     V  _g 

•|  o  l^o-*  * 
E  H  fc  o5  H  2  i 


.a  .2 

•»>     O     00     0- 

•-M  J  -c  a 


|  §  .2  'S.'E.  2 

4J     r« 

o  a 


^3  ^3  A 
CJ     O     O 

«  *^  *J  <-> 


"I  -2-5 


w   ®    ca  -3 


J=    6  3  ^  -S 

a:in 


6.S 


2  g 


11 


•~  .2 


a,        *^  a.  P- 

g<  w  c.  a        ®  ® 

,  3  5-i  ?  O.  ^  e< 
!  o  .=r      3  a.  s>  ® 

.,  -S  "          *S    Ol    4> 

-i^^O^^e-S 


VOL.    II. 


M     M 


266 


APPENDIX-C. 


Original. 

Handsome 

Mild 

Modest 

Virtuous 

Temperate 

Free 

Active 

Affable 

Social 

Hospitable 

Charitable 

Religious 

Worshipful 

Credulous 

Superstitious 

Bold 

Straight 

Graceful 

Cleanly 

Brave 

Revengeful 

Jealous 

Cruel 


CHARACTER.—  (PAGE  256.) 

Secondary. 

Original. 

Ugly 

Warlike 

Austere 

Proud 

Diffident 

Honest 

Libidinous 

Honourable 

Dissipated 

Ignorant 

Enslaved 

Vain 

Crippled 

Eloquent 

Reserved 

Independent 

Taciturn 

Grateful 

Hospitable 

Happy 

Charitable 

Healthy 

Religious 

Long-lived 

Worshipful 

Red 

Suspicious 

Sober 

Superstitious 

Wild 

Timid 

Increasing 

Crooked 

Faithful 

Graceless 

Stout-hearted 

Filthy 

Indolent 

Brave 

Full-blood 

Revengeful 

Living 

Jealous 

Rich 

Cruel 

Landholders 

Secondary. 
Peaceable 
Humble 
Honest 
Honourable 
Conceited 
Humble 
Eloquent 
Dependant 
Grateful 
Miserable 
Sickly 
Short-lived 
Pale-red 
Drunken 
Wild 

Decreasing 
Faithful 

Broken-hearted 
Indolent 
Mixed-blood 
Dying 
Poor 
Beggars 


FINIS. 


TOSSWILL  AND  MYERS,  PRINTERS, 
24,    BUDGE  ROW,  LONDON. 


u.  1074 1 


C3>7(.l 


/.  2 


